If only I'd have had my camera on hand yesterday afternoon at about five o' clock when a black Range Rover SVR thundered down County Road at around 60mph...

Police forces across the country have appealed for the public’s help in catch dangerous drivers by filming incidents.

They've successfully prosecuted hundreds of rule-breakers in recent months thanks to footage sent in by witnesses; London’s Metropolitan Police are actively encouraging road users to send in clips of dangerous driving when they encounter it.

Detective Superintendent Andy Cox from the Met said: “The police can’t be everywhere all the time but the public can.

“If I’m a dangerous driver, I may look for the police car and the speed camera. If I don’t see them I might be minded to drive illegally, dangerously.

“If I’ve got the mindset that a member of the public might report me, I think that is a significant deterrent.

“This is not the public doing the police’s job. The public are part of the solution in every type of crime.”

Cox - interviewed last week on the Jeremy Vine show- said the Met had only started asking the public to submit footage 18 months ago and already the force has received more than 3,000 videos in July, up from 5,000 for the whole of 2018.

However, he also warned that some forces to not have the facilities to process videos sent in to them.

Commander Kyle Gordon, the lead on road policing policy for police chiefs across the country, said he had started work “to consider how best to make this happen”.

It comes after Hollywood director Guy Ritchie was banned from driving for six months last week, after a cyclist filmed him texting while behind the wheel in London. Cyclist Mike van Erp sent The Met. a video file, 'Man typing on his mobile phone whilst behind the wheel of his car', to support the allegation.

Ritchie was given six points on his licence, taking the total to 15, and ordered to pay a £666 fine, as well as £166 in prosecution costs and court fees.