A crackdown on foreign lorry drivers yielded up 13 fines in the first day alone.

Police say a change in the law, which came into force at the beginning of this month, has helped catch rogue drivers who flout UK driving rules.

Up until April 1, police were unable to issue fixed penalty notices to foreign drivers - mainly lorry drivers - who committed traffic offences.

This is because they had no powers to issue points on their licences.

Now police can issue on-the-spot fines and even impound vehicles until a fine can be paid.

On the first day alone, 32 vehicles were stopped, with 17 offences committed.

More than a dozen penalty notices were handed out and the police accumulated a total of £1,300 in roadside payments.

Some drivers had committed multiple offences.

Deputy Chief Constable Adrian Leppard said: "What's really behind this is us trying to get better road safety on our roads through foreign lorry drivers who realise they can be subject to some form of penalty - that's the bottom line here."