Drivers in Swansea are appealing for tougher measures to deal with people who drive without a licence as new figures show they are nine times more likely to have an accident. A report from the Department of Transport has revealed there are more than one million people driving around Britain's roads without a licence.

Although they account for only one per cent of hours driven, every year they are involved in around 7,000 crashes in which someone is hurt.

John Evans, Swansea group secretary for the Institute of Advanced Motorists, said: "Anyone who goes around unlicensed and untaxed is obviously a bigger risk than drivers who are licensed because if they don't care about that, they don't care about anything.

"They are a risk to everyone and I would like to see much stricter sentences such as confiscation of vehicles."

The Government says it is taking the problem seriously and is working to tackle it.

Road Safety Minister David Jamieson said: "We are already taking robust action that includes the widespread introduction of Automatic Number Plate Recognition allowing police to target unlicensed vehicles on the road."

South Wales Police road safety officer Sergeant Nigel Whitehouse said: ''We are aware there are a number of unlicensed drivers, whether they are totally unlicensed or just disqualified.

"I can only describe them as a menace on the roads.

"We will do everything in our power to put these people off the roads permanently."