CHESHIRE Police would like to respond to three letters published in the World on Wednesday, April 20, and Wednesday, April 27.

Hundreds of road traffic collisions are reported each year and they are prioritised as with any other type of incident reported to police. A large number of these collisions involve drivers who have failed to stop.

The process of investigating a fail to stop collision can take several weeks, or sometimes months depending upon the circumstances of the incident.

Fail-to-stop vehicles are often not registered to the correct person and this can lead to prolonged inquiries with previous keepers to ascertain the legal owner of the vehicle.

Drivers who fail to stop are often disqualified drivers, have no insurance, or are driving a stolen vehicle and it can be very difficult to trace them. Sometimes they are never found.

Unfortunately the author of 'How long before police action?' did not provide specific details of the incident they reported, for example the exact date and location of the road traffic collision and their contact details.

The author can contact PC Phil McCormack, or PC Alan Webb on 01244-615872 in order for this matter to be investigated further.

Details of the collision Susan Evans reported to police in September 2004 were passed to the Vehicle Collision Unit in order for the incident to be recorded and for an officer to investigate the identity of the fail to stop driver.

Following inquiries no further action was taken by police in this particular case, as the offending driver could not be identified due to insufficient evidence.

Where there is sufficient evidence, Cheshire Police prosecutes fail-to-stop drivers.

Those convicted of this offence face a prison sentence of up to six months, a hefty fine and points on their driving license.

Cheshire Police