British drivers heading to the continent this summer are being warned not to ignore speed limits and other rules of the road amid a sharp rise in the number of motorists being pursued by foreign police forces.

Previously it was estimated that up to half a million UK drivers went unpunished for speeding each year in France alone, because they thought once they were back home they were untouchable.

But a new system called Mutual Legal Assistance (MLA), which the UK signed up to two years ago, which means it is much easier for drivers from one country to be prosecuted by the authorities in another.

Now any driver suspected of a range of safety based offences, including speeding, drink driving, not wearing a seatbelt, running a red light or using a mobile phone at the wheel, can be prosecuted even when they have left the country where the offence took place.

A foreign police force can apply to the UK authorities for the driver information and under the MLA system the Driver and Vehicle Licence Agency (DVLA) must provide them.

Last year the UK received almost 2,000 requests for information about British drivers from other countries, up almost 20 per cent on the previous year.