A tractor driver and a cabbie were among those caught using mobile phones at the wheel in Cumbria in the six weeks since a law change.

And there were roughly just as many motorists flouting new rules on phone usage in the first month after the change than had been caught the previous month.

Figures obtained by The Cumberland News show scores of drivers were caught using phones after penalties doubled to six points and £200.

Police have also revealed how the drivers caught included a tractor driver pulled over at the busy Caldewgate roundabout in Carlisle.

A cab driver was also stopped on the city's London Road.

During February, 33 motorists were fined for illegally using a hand-held mobile phone while driving in Cumbria.

Thirty five were caught for a similar offence in March after the change in the law came into force.

The figures, released by Cumbria Police, come as a stark warning to motorists that officers are watching out for rogue driving.

Police say mobile phone use while driving is becoming as socially unacceptable as drink-driving - and can be just as dangerous.

They argue that everyone is now well aware of the dangers posed by drivers being distracted by their phone while at the wheel.

"The consequences could be fatal," said Chief Inspector Andy Wilkinson of Cumbria Police.

He added that the county's officers were on the roads and looking for drivers who were putting people's lives at risk.

The new laws mean motorists will no longer be offered the chance to go on a driver awareness course.

Young and newly qualified drivers - those within two years of passing their test - will lose their licence.

It is illegal to use a hand-held phone or similar device while driving or riding a motorcycle.

This includes using a mobile phone to follow a map, read a test or check social media.

This applies even if drivers are stopped at traffic lights or queuing in traffic.

Motorists can only use a handheld phone if they are safely parked or need to call 999 or the alternative 112 in an emergency - and it's unsafe or impractical to stop.

Chief Insp Wilkinson added: "We also need to change people's behaviour so that they would never even consider using a phone while behind the wheel.

"The public can help by having frank conversations with friends and family about the dangers and the financial and legal consequences."

* Research carried out by MORE TH<N insurance cover showed that more than three million social media posts and emails are sent by motorists when driving each week in the UK.

It also suggested 28 per cent of Britons checked Facebook, Twitter and Instagram social media from behind the wheel, despite the new harsher punishments that came into force on March 1.