A journalist is understood to have been stopped and fined by police today on their way to cover the launch of new tougher penalties for motorists caught using a mobile phone while driving.

The reporter, whose identity is not known, is believed to have been fined £200 and had six points docked from their licence under the new law, which came into force today.

It is thought the journalist was stopped while using their mobile phone as part of a police operation enforcing the new law, which was being filmed and photographed by journalists, in Abingdon, Oxfordshire.