Using mobile phones at the wheel is as bad as drink driving, according to a police officer leading a crackdown against the “irresponsible” offence.

Sergeant Robin Hughes, based a Marlow Police Station, said the problem is rife and that it can be difficult for police to spot the culprits.

During a recent speeding operation around rural Marlow, officers handed out five tickets to drivers who were on the phone compared to 140 breaking the speed limit.

But Sgt Hughes said the numbers do not tell the whole story, and that many drivers seem to ignore the law.

He said: “The difficulty with mobile phones is catching them, at speed it is difficult to spot. The ones we stopped were obvious but if we stopped five there were probably hundreds we missed.

“The message just isn’t getting through and we will be enforcing it.

“It is dangerous, it is irresponsible and in my opinion it’s as bad as drink driving and we will enforce as it’s what the public want.

“The last thing we want is our kids crossing the road and drivers approaching who are not concentrating because they are on their phones.”

Using a handheld phone while driving has been illegal since 2003, with the offence carrying a fine and three licence penalty points.

Though nationally, the number of fines has dropped over the last five years, Thames Valley Police insists it is still high on the agenda, handing out 10,579 tickets last year – the second highest in England and Wales.

TVP spokesman Charlotte Redman said: "It’s really disappointing to see that there are still such high offending levels for mobile phone use.

“We actively target illegal phone use because we believe this reduces the volume of killed or seriously injured collisions.”

Sgt Hughes said further crackdowns looking specifically at the problem are planned for the next few months.