Traffic cops stopped more than 100 cars during the spot-checks across Leigh for two weeks in February.

The police operation was launched after schoolboy Thomas Wilson was mowed down by a driver on a pedestrian crossing on Chapel Street near Leigh town centre.

The St Joseph's Primary pupil is still recovering at his home in Bond Street after having metal pins inserted in a broken thigh.

The campaign targeted the main offenders such as banned, drunk, unlicensed and uninsured drivers - as well as defective vehicles.

Sgt Mark Bradley said: "Motorists in Westleigh, Atherton and Tyldesley areas were targeted in response to accidents where vehicles fail to stop.

"Research shows that a large percentage of persons responsible for failing to stop after an accident are in fact the same persons that commit a large number of other crimes and are often also disqualified from driving or have been drinking."

The 18 people arrested were charged with a number of driving and other offences and 28 people were sent summonses for lesser traffic offences.

Meanwhile, Wigan Metro safety chiefs released figures this week to show that the roads are become safer across Leigh and Wigan.

Death or serous injury accidents were reduced by one in every ten compared to the year before.

For all road accidents there was a seven percent reduction.

The most recent figures for 1999 show there were 328 children injured in

Wigan has a target that by 2010 the numbers of people killed or serous injured is reduced by 40 pc, the amount of children killed or seriously injured by a half and the number of slight injury accidents by 10 pc.