Police said they were "horrified" to see drivers travelling at 140mph on the motorway earlier this week, prompting urgent calls for a crackdown on speeding motorists.

One roads policing officer from Essex Police detected 180 speeding offences in just over an hour on Friday, June 6.

While conducting speed checks on the A12 between Chelmsford and Witham, a member of the roads policing team caught several motorists travelling far above the speed limit.

One driver was clocked going 110mph, while another sped past cameras going 121mph. Shockingly, one motorist was caught driving at double the national speed limit at 140mph.

Essex Police said they were 'horrified' to see drivers reach such high speeds

Essex Police confirmed that the three drivers travelling faster than 100mph will receive court summons, as well as any other motorists breaking the speed limit.

Adam Pipe, head of roads policing at Essex Police, said: "I’m horrified to see drivers reaching twice the legal speed limit on our roads.

"It's totally unacceptable and is putting road users, as well as themselves at risk of serious injury or death."

Drivers are able to report dangerous drivers to Essex Police through the Safer Essex Roads Partnership and its Extra Eyes initiative.

Gloucestershire Police captured a HGV driver rolling a cigarette on the M5

Any footage sent through Extra Eyes is reviewed by an investigator within the Road Policing team at Essex Police, who can judge whether an offence has been committed.

Pipe added that the safety measures were critical as the police force had seen "a number of serious collisions" on the road this year, with several deaths.

He said: "We are committed to reducing this and dedicated officers are patrolling the roads network 24 hours a day, to catch irresponsible drivers and keep you safe.

"I urge people to think about the consequences of driving too fast and the irreparable damage that can be caused. Don’t resort to speeding, it's never worth the devastating cost."

The minimum penalty for speeding is a £100 fine and three penalty points on a driving licence, which can lead to a licence being revoked if they build up 12 points within three years.

If a speeding case is taken to court, a driver can plead guilty a receive the fine, unless they are given the option to attend a speed awareness course.

In the event that someone pleads not guilty, they will be required to attend court, where they can be slapped with heavier fines and more licence points if they are found guilty.

Fines usually depend on what the speed limit was and how much they exceeded it when they were driving.

Operation Tramline has recorded almost 50,000 offences since its launch in 2015 GETTY

In most cases, it will be a percentage of their weekly income, up to a maximum of £1,000 or £2,500 if they were travelling on a motorway.

It comes as Gloucestershire Police captured a HGV driver rolling a cigarette while travelling on the M5.

The driver was one of 58 motorists caught breaking road rules during Operation Tramline, in association with National Highways.

Police officers use unmarked HGV cabs to see into other lorries and have an improved view inside cars. From here, they can better detect whether someone is using their mobile phone, not wearing their seatbelt or not paying attention to the road.