More than 300 motorists have paid the price for driving illegally on a stretch of road open only to buses, taxis and disabled drivers.

They were all caught in Charles Street, between Humberstone Gate and Belgrave Gate, Leicester, since the beginning of the year.

The extra traffic has been blamed for adding to the city's congestion problems and, police believe, puts pedestrians at risk.

Police warned at the beginning of the year that they would hand out tickets to deter motorists.

On Thursday, 69 motorists were fined £30 in two hours.

Officers have staged five operations since the start of the year, with a total of 335 motorists caught driving illegally.

Sgt Nicola Woods, of the city centre beat team, said: "We have run an enforcement operation in Charles Street every week since the start of the year and it is really disappointing to see that motorists are not learning.

"We will continue to run operations of this nature in Charles Street every week to raise awareness of the restrictions, reduce congestion in this part of the city centre and, most importantly, ensure the safety of pedestrians using Charles Street."

Also on Thursday, five motorists were fined £60 fines for driving without a seatbelt.

Two others were given £60 fines and three points for transporting children without appropriate car seats. Official notices were also issued to four motorists whose vehicles were found to have either defective brake lights or tyres with low tread.

One driver was reported for not having tax and two for driving without insurance.

A further five were required to produce their documents at a police station.