A road traffic sergeant says that telling a family their loved one has died on the roads "stays with your forever" as he joins fellow officers in launching a major crackdown on Wiltshire's roads.

Sgt Ben Cox was speaking as Wiltshire Police launch Project Zero, a campaign that will see the force intesify resources in certain areas to crackdown on five major contributors to deaths on the roads.

It will take place every Wednesday across the county.

Whilst encompassing what is very much everyday work for Roads Policing Unit officers, Project Zero will see the department intensify resources in a specific area each week with a focus on the ‘Fatal Five’. 

The 'Fatal Five' are excess speed, drink/drug driving, driving while using a mobile phone, not wearing a seatbelt and careless/dangerous driving.

Sgt Ben Cox said: “The aim ultimately is to reduce road deaths in our county to zero. While this may seem unachievable, I personally can’t think of what would be classed as an ‘acceptable’ number of deaths on the road.  

"One death is one too many. Being the person to inform a family that their loved one has been killed on the roads will always be the hardest part of this job and something that stays with you forever.

“Our aim, every day, is to keep our roads as safe as possible by targeting those who fail to abide by the law. The fatal five are the offences statistically proven to majorly contribute to death and serious injury on the road.

“While this is very much our everyday work on RPU, we will be intensifying our resources for that particular day in a localised area and targeting those most at risk of causing serious harm.”

Project Zero kicked off for 2023 last week when it ran in Amesbury. In total, seven Traffic Offence Reports were issued and 14 fixed penalty notices all for 'Fatal Five' related offences.

The Wilts Spec Ops Twitter account covers the force's Roads Policing and Armed Response units and regularly posts updates on what its officers have been doing and some of the dangerous and illegal driving they come across. 

In one post, it said that in one day on January 22, over 25 drivers were reported for multiple offences including speeding, mobile phone use, vehicles in dangerous condition, tyre offences and drug driving.