Ely Police Traffic Day.

A BOY racer, countless drivers without their seat belts and plenty of mobile phone users were all snared by officers in a day-long operation held in Ely this week.

Far from a covert operation however, the officers were stood in full high visibility uniform just yards from Ely Police Station, in Newnham Street, with drivers pulled straight from the road into the station.

A total of 37 seat belts tickets were issued and 14 tickets for mobile phone use were issued in the just four hours.

Among those caught was a boy racer who, besides not wearing his seatbelt, also decided to start a drag race at the traffic lights less than 100 yards from waiting officers.

He was pulled into the station, handed a £60 on-the-spot fine and issued with a section 59 order, meaning the vehicle was seized by officers.

Pc Steve Gedny said: “Motorists sometimes say that we are targeting them unfairly but things like seatbelts and driving with a mobile phone are safety issues.

“It’s about keeping the roads safe, people may criticise us for having crackdowns but safety is an everyday issue that we will always look at.”

Pc Gedny added that he had decided to carry out the day of action after officers based at Ely station reported countless cases of people flouting the law whilst driving past the station.