Workshop for phone-using drivers

Drivers caught using a mobile face a £60 fine and three points

Motorists caught using their mobile phone while driving in the Thames Valley could go back to "school" to avoid getting points on their licence.

From next month, drivers caught using their phone face a £60 fine and three penalty points on their licence.

Thames Valley Police is launching a "Call Divert" workshop aimed at educating offenders of the dangers of using a phone while driving.

Anyone attending the £74 workshop will not be issued with the penalty points.

Malcolm Collis, head of Thames Valley Police's roads policing department, said: "My advice is to switch your mobile phone off when you get into a vehicle.

"Any call is a distraction and we know this causes crashes.

"We are aware that significant numbers of people are driving while using a hand-held mobile phone and this is an early warning to let drivers know that they have just four weeks in which to change their ways, after that they can expect even tougher action from us."

The interactive "Call Divert" workshop - lasting two-and-a-half hours - will be offered from 27 February and the first classes will take place in April.