OFFICERS who caught more than 60 drivers taking pictures of a lorry crash from behind the wheel were "making the best use of their time" at the scene, Hampshire police has said.

As reported by the Daily Echo, police took details of scores of rubberneckers they say were flouting the law by taking snaps of the accident that caused long delays and saw the A34 shut.

A senior officer for Hampshire police said reg plates of those breaking the law while driving past were recorded in pocket notebooks and it would have been "remiss" of his officers not to issue the fines.

Police insist that all of those caught were moving at the time, but had they been stationary it would not have been an offence as the motorist would have to be "driving" the vehicle for it to be illegal.

Letters have been sent to the registered drivers of the cars, informing them that those behind the wheel at the time will be issued with a fixed penalty notice or offered the chance to take part in a driver’s awareness course.

Inspector Andy Storey, of the Joint Operations Road Policing Unit, told the Daily Echo that it was not the first time that officers at a crash scene have issued such fines to drivers – but that the sheer number caught by his officers was disappointingly high.

However, he added that the action taken by his officers last Wednesday, taking number plates down in their pocketbooks, was not something that was routine at every accident scene – but it was done while they waited for the lorry to be recovered.

Inspector Storey said: "This was not unique but it is not something we do at the scene of every single accident.

"On this particular occasion, the recovery was taking a long time, which meant our officers did not have much to do as the recovery team did their job.

"As they worked on the lorry, our officers noticed drivers on the other carriageway taking photographs.

"It would be remiss of them to ignore it and I wouldn’t expect my officers to do that. They acted appropriately on that occasion and utilised their time proactively."

He added: "Seeing drivers taking photos at scenes of accidents is not something new to us but I think the number of people that were doing it on this occasion was high and that is disappointing.

"Anybody who does this is putting themselves and others using the road at risk just with that moment of distraction."

Anyone wanting to challenge their fixed penalty notice can do so in court, he said.