POLICE are urging winter motorists to ensure their vehicles are fit to drive before setting off on journeys.

Officers yesterday pulled over a driver in Colne for ‘tanking’ – driving with only a tiny part of the windscreen cleared of ice.

The motorist was stopped in Craddock Road, near the town’s police station. Police said some drivers are setting off with their windscreens still frozen, leaving visibility virtually impossible.

Officers have released this photo in the hope it will show other drivers just how dangerous, and irresponsible, it can be.

Sergeant Claire Pearson, from the Road Policing Unit, said: “It is a criminal offence to drive a vehicle that is not suitable to be on the road.

Drivers need to make sure they fully de-ice their cars before they set off. If they drive vehicles still frozen, or iced up, they are not only increasing the chances of being involved in a collision, but are also putting other road users at risk.”