POLICE HAVE SLAMMED motorists in Aberdeenshire and Moray as an operation aimed at catching drink/drive and speeding offenders saw hundreds charged for a third successive weekend.

Operation Cedar saw a total of 211 motorists being stopped for a variety of offences – including one driver who was clocked at 101mph on the A96 just outside Elgin, and five more whose speed had reached over 86mph on the route between Elgin and Inverurie.

A woman and four men also face drink drive charges as a result of the latest crackdown – while two more have been reported for dangerous driving.

Reporting the figures on Monday policing inspector Ewan Innes said that too many drivers were still driving in an “irresponsible” manner despite the high police presence during the operation – and insisted that it was only luck that meant nobody was injured.

“We are into summer at the moment and there are children going about at night – drivers need to start thinking about their actions and the consequences,” he said, adding: “There were 16 collisions throughout the weekend and quite a number of offences – thankfully, there were no serious or fatal consequences.”

Moray’s MSP, Richard Lochhead, said it was “concerning” to learn that such a high number of drivers were continuing to take a risk on local roads: “While the number of fatalities and serious accidents has reduced in recent years, the numbers remain too high and a major factor is driver behaviour.”