Just three motorists were picked up in the Kingdom during a recent 24-hour blitz - two more than during the same period last year.

Only Grampian came out better, with one lone driver being caught chatting on his mobile compared with 10 last year.

The 'Mobile Phone day of Action' was led by the Association of Chief Police Officers in Scotland (ACPOS) and ran over a 24-hour period on February 25.

Held around the fourth anniversary of the offence being categorised as endorsable, the campaign is designed to raise motorists' awareness of the dangers of using a mobile phone whilst driving.

All eight police authorities took part, with a total of 180 motorists being caught.

In the Lothian and Borders area, a 39 year-old HGV driver was caught reading a text message whilst driving through central Edinburgh, while in Strathclyde a driver who already had nine points on his licence was reported for using a hand-held mobile.

Said Chief Inspector David McCulloch: "Targeting the use of mobile phones whilst driving forms part of our year-round core business, in support of our commitment to road safety. We did deploy additional resources to the one-day campaign and detected three offences.

"Whilst this figure could be interpreted in a number of ways, I would like to think that the message is getting through to drivers.

''That message is that the use of mobile phones whilst driving can have a significant impact upon road safety."


COULD Fife Police really only find three drivers using a mobile?

The Press decided to conduct its own roadside survey.

This week we launched 'Operation FFP' to see for ourselves.

On Monday we spotted two workers using their phones.

The Esplanade got a clean bill of health – while we noted one driver on the phone outside the Adam Smith Theatre.