Your number's up if they see you on a mobile at wheel

Lothian and Borders Police recruited its team of 20 traffic support wardens to keep watch for motorists flouting the law under a new scheme aimed at reducing the offence.

Although being caught by a warden does not carry a 60 fine, the force uses the car's registration plate to trace an address and send a letter to the owner's home.

The letters warn of the dangers of using a phone while driving, with police chiefs hopeful that motorists who know they have been spotted will change their behaviour.

Since the initiative's launch last April, wardens have spotted 1203 drivers using phones in central and north Edinburgh, 498 in the south and east of the city, and 458 in the west, bringing the total to 2159.

Meanwhile, 2412 motorists in Edinburgh were hit with a 60 fine and received three penalty points after being caught by police officers using their phone while driving during the same period. The force-wide total was 3584.

Inspector John Beresford, from the force's road policing unit, said: "Our traffic support wardens are out every day so we asked them to look out for drivers using their phone, as well as their normal duties.

"The letters basically tell the owner that someone using their vehicle has been caught breaking the law. It points out the dangers and asks them to consider their behaviour in the future. It's a nudge aimed at educating drivers and, I suppose, shooting a warning across their bows.

"Now they know they've been seen breaking the law they may feel that cold breath at the backs of their necks."

The wardens are asked to take down the registration plates of offenders, with police then tracing addresses through their national database. As part of a national day of action on February 28 by forces across Scotland, the wardens caught 48 drivers in the city.Insp Beresford added: "It's difficult to quantify the success these letters may have as we'll never know if that driver avoided an accident in the future as a result. But we'll keep flogging away to get that message out. Our road policing officers are out every day, often in unmarked cars, and people are caught and fined every day.

"People complain to us bitterly about drivers using mobile phones and yet it's still endemic in society."

Jo Bullock, a spokeswoman for the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents, said it supported the force's scheme. She said: "The drivers can count themselves fortunate that they are being given a chance to take action and change their behaviour by stopping using their mobile phones behind the wheel."