ALMOST 50 drivers were stopped for traffic offences in a two-hour roadside speed check in Steventon today.

Officers from the Roads Policing Department, alongside Road Safety Constables and Road Safety Officers (RSOs) from Oxfordshire County Council, were on the High Street in the village between 8am and 10am.

The check took place as part of Operation Pride after local residents expressed their concerns about speeding in the village.

Thirty-seven drivers were stopped and issued with Fixed Penalty Notices for exceeding the 30mph speed limit.

Police said 27 opted to receive roadside education from the council RSOs and their tickets were cancelled. The other ten were outside the threshold and will have to pay their £60 fine and receive three penalty points on their licence.

Six people were fined £30 for not wearing their seatbelt and four drivers were fined £60 with three penalty points for using their mobile phones. One driver also had their car seized for driving without insurance.

PC Mark Pilling, road safety constable for Oxfordshire, said: "It is disappointing that nearly 50 drivers were stopped in only two hours for a variety of offences.

"Some motorists may believe that exceeding the speed limit by a few miles an hour is not a big deal, but speed can kill and hopefully this check will enforce the message to drivers."

Julie Jones, road safety officer for Oxfordshire County Council, said: "Many drivers feel it is acceptable to exceed the speed limit by a little, until we ask them if they'd be happy if someone they loved was killed or injured by a driver found to be travelling at the same speed that police stopped them for."