A POLICE plea for dashcam footage from the public to investigate driving offences is a great idea, says the chairman of Bolton Advanced Motorists.

Ray Sammons voiced his approval of the move after it was announced the scheme was going to be rolled out across the whole of Wales and that other police forces across the UK were looking at the project.

The news follows the Operation Snap pilot run by North Wales Police, which has dealt with 129 cases as a result of footage submitted since October.

Mr Sammons said: "Anything that can help the police to catch people, get them off the road and into court has to be a good thing.

"I have been watching the news about this and I saw there was someone said it was an invasion of personal privacy.

"But I take the view that if you are committing a crime or you have already done the crime, you can not expect to get away with it.

"I have seen examples of shots that have been taken from dash cams and the drivers caught on film have ended up in court.

"I have to say, some of the driving you see is horrible and the people who do get caught face repercussions.

"I support it because if a crime has been committed and if a driver wants to get recompense, it helps if the person is going to be taken to court."

He said there were other benefits to having dash cams, including for insurance claims.

As part of the scheme, footage has to be unedited and include the whole journey, not just the incident. Members of the public are also told not to post it on social media, or to remove it if it has already been posted.

Police forces from other parts of the UK, Australia and Hong Kong have been in touch about the scheme.

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