A SUSSEX Police piloted scheme could see unmarked lorries keeping tabs on drivers.

Motorists using their mobile phones at the wheel will be the target of the new scheme in which unmarked HGV cabs are fitted with video cameras.

The lorries are expected to be deployed on major motorways and A-roads nationwide from this spring to root out dangerous and unsafe driving.

It follows a three-month trial which ran last year in five police force areas – Sussex, Hampshire, Surrey, Thames Valley and Warwickshire.

Motorists caught during the trial included someone who was making a video call while driving.

Under the pilot scheme, codenamed Operation Tramline, 462 offences were detected, mostly mobile phone and seat belt crimes.

Police said the HGV provided an “ideal viewing platform” for officers to observe drivers’ actions from a high vantage point.

The aim is to combat offending on the roads, including drink and drug driving, use of mobile phones and speeding and seatbelt offences.

Professor Stephen Glaister, director of the RAC Foundation, said: “Police will literally be looking down on drivers to check they are concentrating and not being distracted by the latest message on their phone.

“Motorways are our safest roads but given the speeds involved and the mix of traffic, when things go wrong the results can be serious.

“Rooting out bad and anti-social behaviour is important. Now motorists tempted to break the law are likely to have traffic officers peering right over their shoulders.”