A SENIOR Cheshire policeman has called on the courts to hand out stricter penalties for the most serious motoring offences.

Chief Superintendent Derek Barnett wants greater powers to deal with serial offenders and says courts should get tougher.

Speaking as a member of the Superintendents' Association of England and Wales, Mr Barnett added that stricter sentences were needed for those who continued to drive after being disqualified.

And he argued that a distinction should be made between deliberate offenders and motorists whose conduct was less deliberate.

He said: "We support a review of the sanctions available to courts that penalises the most dangerous and prolific offenders and recognises the distinction between the activities of those who place the public at risk with clear intent and those whose conduct is less wilful."

His comments come after an Easter weekend when three people died on Cheshire roads following fatal collisions.

The deaths occurred after crashes at Wimboldsley, near Middlewich, and Bucklow Hill, Knutsford.

He defended speed cameras and rejected the common complaint among drivers that they were placed on popular routes to generate revenue.

He said: "Cameras do reduce speed and drivers do take notice of them."

And he also blasted careless drivers, saying: "The consequences of their actions are no less serious and life threatening to the thousands of people seriously injured and killed each year on our roads."