Traffic officers have caught a record-breaking 420 drivers speeding in 30mph zones.

The county clampdown was part of a European Road Policing Network campaign, involving 16 countries.

Pc Mark Pilling, above, of Abingdon roads policing, joined other officers and county council road safety staff to carry out the checks.

Of the 420 drivers stopped, 120 were spotted by roads policing officers out on normal patrols.

Drivers travelling between 35mph and 39mph - 60 per cent of the total - were dealt with by road safety officers, who offered education and advice instead of three points and a £60 fine.

Those travelling at 40mph and above were handed £60 fines and three points on their licence, while those travelling at 50mph and above - six drivers - were sent to court. Fixed penalty notices were issued to drivers using mobile phones or not wearing their seatbelt.

Rebecca Webber, a spokesman for Thames Valley Police, said: "This was the highest number of drivers stopped for speeding in Oxfordshire in one week."

Pc Pilling said the laser gun checks, carried out from Monday to Sunday last week, netted twice the number of drivers usually caught speeding in a week.

He said: "These road safety weeks give both the police and councils the chance to get across the important message that speed can kill."