POLICE chiefs have hailed the success of a crackdown on reckless drivers and motorcycle riders intended to make North Yorkshire's roads safer.

They say more than 5,000 traffic offences have been recorded in under a month during the on-going Operation Aegis.

High-visibility patrols, unmarked motorcycles with speed detection equipment, covert patrols, camera vans and a helicopter have all been used in the campaign, which aims to cut the high number of deaths and serious injuries on the county's largely rural roads.

The crackdown has been launched with the 95 Alive Road Safety Partnership, made up of local authorities, emergency services and other agencies.

Police say that since the launch of the campaign last month, mobile safety cameras have recorded a total of 5,156 speeding offences, with 4,120 people being offered speed education courses.

More than 500 of the offences have resulted in a £100 fine and three licence points, and 65 people accused of more serious traffic offences have been summonsed directly to court.

Figures also show that of 205 offences recorded through traffic offence reports, written by officers at the roadside, 28 were for using a mobile phone while driving.

Both education and enforcement methods have been employed to try to get the message through to all road users about the importance of driving and riding safely and the consequences of not doing so, police say.

Inspector Dave Barf, of the road policing team, said: "These figures show that, unfortunately, there are a large number of people driving and riding on our roads who still have not taken on board the message about the dangers of speeding or of using a phone whilst driving.

"Unfortunately, since the launch of Operation Aegis, fatalities due to excessive speed have occurred. To lose someone as the result of a road traffic accident is a devastating thing to happen to any family – but to know that it may have been preventable must be doubly painful.

"My team and I work hard to try and prevent this happening. The reason I invest personally in this operation is that the intent is to save lives – it’s a simple goal, but very difficult to achieve."

The A65 and A59 roads near Skipton are among the county's most notorious accident blackspots, with 26 people killed or seriously injured and 60 serious incidents in 2014.

In the whole of the county, 45 people were killed on its roads last year, and 14 of these fatalities were motorcyclists.