A crackdown on motorists driving illegally has been welcomed and praised by campaigners.

A number of vehicles have been seized recently in and around Bridport by Dorset Police who say they will continue to take action to ‘ensure the safety of all road users in Dorset’.

Campaigners of the Direct Action Now Group East Road (DANGER), a group of Bridport residents who set up a Community Speed Watch initiative to start monitoring speeding motorists, say it is important residents can ‘live safely and are protected’.

Campaigner Dave Gibbons said: “I think they are doing the right thing - the police are definitely cracking down.

“The police have been with us on East Road, they did two days with us in January and they were quite surprised. They caught 44 vehicles speeding in less than an hour on Tuesday between 1.30pm and 2.30pm - they were quite shocked. They also came out with us on a Sunday.

“I think there’s a big crackdown, they want to make sure the roads in Dorset are properly policed.

“On East Road, the volume of traffic is huge and what we’re seeing is people disregarding the speed and in a built-up area they should be going 30mph.

“I am all for it, it’s important that we can live safely, and communities are protected from uninsured drivers and speeders.

“I’m quite happy that they are doing it, they are definitely motivated to tidy up the roads in Dorset, which is great.”

Earlier this month, two drivers were caught on the same day, a 25-year-old woman who was driving with a provisional licence and a 43-year-old man who had no insurance. A third driver was caught the next day driving without a licence. All cars were seized by police.

Last month a woman was stopped on the school run for having no insurance. She initially tried to avoid officers but was stopped in Abbotsbury and her car was seized.

Police also impounded a car on West Bay Road after it was discovered not to be taxed or insured and was registered as being off the road.

A spokesman for Dorset Police said: “Uninsured drivers cost the economy, as well as those drivers who do insure their vehicles, hundreds of thousands of pounds every year. Those who choose not to insure their vehicles are more likely to be involved in other criminality as well.

“All officers are involved in targeting uninsured vehicles and drivers who do not have a valid driving licence. Officers can very quickly carry out a check to see if a vehicle is insured and also regularly carry out checks on drivers to see if they have a valid licence.

“When a vehicle is found to be uninsured or the driver is not licensed to drive it, the vehicle is seized and taken to a recovery garage. The driver will be fined and receive points on their licence.

“Officers from the No Excuse team and local officers will continue to take proportionate action to carry out checks on drivers to help ensure the safety of all road users in Dorset.”