Car insurance cheats and road traffic offenders in Merseyside will struggle to escape the attention of one officer in the region, whose work has landed him a nomination in the national policing awards.

PC Sean Bennett clocks up to six speeding motorists each day and works to track down more offenders than any other officer in Sefton, according to the Liverpool Echo.

The 21-year-old, who says he has wanted to be a police officer since he was four, arranged for training in his own time to learn to use speed detection devices and identified seven uninsured vehicles in one month.

PC Bennett also targets drunk and disqualified drivers and sets a target of catching at least two speeding motorists a day, meaning those driving without car insurance are unlikely to escape the clutches of him and his fellow officers.

His enthusiasm for fighting crime has now been recognised with a place on the shortlist for Student Officer of the Year Award at the Jane's Police Review gala awards.

Merseyside police warned drivers earlier this week to try and avoid leaving their engines running on frosty mornings, adding that their car insurance is likely to be invalid if keys are left in the ignition.