EMERGENCY services are joining forces to launch a new speed check campaign to cut the road accident rate.

The Three Nines campaign will see speeding motorists spoken to by police, ambulance crews and fire fighters to try to hammer home the message that speed causes accidents.

The operation, which will run in North Yorkshire Police's western area, covering Richmond, Ripon and Harrogate, will involve a series of swoops throughout the summer.

Speeding drivers will be stopped by the police and handed over to an expert from Tees, East and North Yorkshire Ambulance, who will tell the motorist what sort of injuries victims can expect from crashes at different speeds.

The driver will then see a fire fighter who will detail from their own experience the sort of damage caused to vehicles involved in accidents at different speeds, using photographs.

An experienced road policing officer will then take over to tell the driver of the action that will be taken over the speeding offence, from a warning to prosecution.

Traffic constable Steve Ball said the idea came from a meeting between the emergency services. He said: "It is a simple message and we believe it will come very convincingly from the men and women who have to deal with the consequence of inappropriate speed."