A ZERO-tolerance approach needs to be taken against motorists who drive while using their mobile phones, an accident victim has said.

Roadpeace campaigner Allan Ramsay said stricter enforcement of new laws banning drivers from using their phones was essential to cut the death toll on the roads.

He spoke as police continued to use secret roadside spotters around Bolton in a crackdown on offending drivers.

Mr Ramsay, who was nearly killed in a freak accident 14 years ago, is calling on councils to become involved in the enforcement process to target offenders.

He said the local authority often concentrated on less-serious offences.

He said: "In Bolton, the council has been using CCTV cameras and teams of officers to stop people dropping litter.

"While this is commendable, when did anyone get killed dropping a fag end?

"But people have been killed as a result of motorists driving while also talking on mobile phones.

"Mobile phone use is an addiction and I want to protect myself as a cyclist from these killer drivers.

"We need this technology to catch these people and cope with the growing amount of mobile phone users and I would ask Bolton Council to join the fight against this problem.

"Speed, cars and mobile phones are all addictive and, put together, they produce a lethal cocktail."

Mr Ramsay, aged 56, of Radcliffe, fractured his skull and damaged his neck in 1991 after he was hit by a metal pole sticking out of a lorry carrying livestock.

Officers from Greater Manchester Police are running a campaign this month to remind motorists that they face the threat of fixed-penalty notices or even prosecution if they continue to break the law. banning the use of mobile phones while driving.

A number of locations in Bolton have been chosen, but they remain secret to avoid giving drivers advance warning.

A spokesman for Bolton Council said: "The law in relation to drivers using mobile phones while driving is a police responsibility."