FAMILIES have spoken of the devastation caused by drivers using mobile phones.

It comes as Hampshire Constabulary and Thames Valley Police begin a week of enforcement action today to crackdown on drivers using their phones at the wheel.

An emotional video has been released as part of the campaign in which a widow speaks of the loss of her husband.

Ion Calin and his friend and work colleague Marian Olteanu were killed instantly after a lorry driver ploughed into their stationary car on the M271.

The lorry driver, Keith Mees, was distracted and sending Facebook messages to his girlfriend on his phone, prior to the crash. He was later jailed for six years.

Veronica Calin, the wife of Ion said: “For the people using mobile phones while driving, tell them not to do so.

“There is nothing that important that you have to answer that phone call or check that message on Facebook.

“I feel that the situation has been devastating for me and my kids, all our hopes and plans have just disappeared.”

Simona McDonald, the cousin of Marian Olteanu, added: “Marian was a kind, thoughtful man, and a lovely son and brother, who brought so much happiness to our family.

“It is so hard for his two brothers and his parents to know that they will not share any more good times with him and will never see him marry or have children. He will be greatly missed.

“That people continue to use mobile phones while driving, being in no doubt of the destruction and devastation it can cause, is unfathomable to me.”

The campaign also follows a change in the law in March 2017 meaning offenders caught face double the penalties.

Drivers could receive six points on their driving licence and a £200 fine. Younger motorists risk having their driving licence revoked.

Recent figures released by the force showed that between January 2014 and September 2016, there were 56 collisions across Hampshire in which the use of a mobile phone while driving may have been a factor.

Four people died and there was a total of 73 injuries.

During the same period, a total of 14,651 tickets were issued to drivers found to be using a mobile device while driving.

Road Safety Sergeant Rob Heard, from the Joint Operations Roads Policing Unit for Hampshire Constabulary and Thames Valley, said: “We are still seeing too many people deciding to take that risk, whether looking at a text, making and receiving calls or even surfing the internet.

“Doing any of these will clearly impair and distract your ability to drive a vehicle safely. I am urging all motorists to not take that risk, a moment’s inattention can be the difference between life and death.”