Police in Ewell are launching a three-month crackdown on drivers using mobile phones.

PC Steve Mould, neighbourhood officer for Ewell and Ewell East, said the action was the result of concerns raised at a public meeting earlier this month.

Driving using a hand-held mobile phone has been illegal for more than four years and only last month the Crown Prosecution Service changed its policy regarding the offence.

Most drivers will still face a fine and points on their licence, but where driving is unsafe, prosecutors can now press charges of dangerous driving, which if convicted, carries a custodial sentence.

Yet many motorists who use telephones while driving in and around the Ewell area still claim they are unaware their actions are in fact illegal.

"I have very little sympathy for people who continue to use their phones while driving and say they didn't know," PC Mould said.

"The law has been in place now for so long I won't accept people saying that they didn't know."

PC Mould also admitted he regularly saw motorists committing the offence, frustratingly often when he was off duty and unable to act.

But when out in a marked patrol car, he suspects motorists usually come off the phone before he sees them.

To combat this, he will be patrolling in an unmarked car and have plain clothes police officers situated at certain points to catch law-breaking motorists.

He and his team will also be tackling drivers who congest roads by parking close to schools while dropping off and picking up their children.

The next neighbourhood meeting is in April, when community leaders and police will decide on what they want PC Mould and his team to focus on.