Police carried out rigorous checks on drivers and their passengers

The patrols in Oatlands Drive, Slough, Berkshire, on Thursday, were aimed at reducing the number of people killed and injured in crashes, police said.

The move comes after council road safety officers stopped 18 vehicles in the same area on 21 April.

Of the 30 passengers not wearing a seat belt, 23 were under the age of 16.

We are doing everything we can to tell people how dangerous this really is Senior road safety officer Tina Housego

Insp Colin Clark, of the Road Policing Unit, said: "The single biggest impact we can have on the numbers of people who die or who are seriously injured is to make sure everyone wears their belt every time they travel.

"Last week road safety officers from the council spoke to drivers in Oatlands Drive about the danger they were putting themselves, their loved-ones and other road-users in.

"We are repeating ourselves but people do not seem to be taking the message on board."

Tina Housego, senior road safety officer from Slough Borough Council, said: "The majority of those people not wearing seatbelts were children.

"This is a huge number. We are doing everything we can to tell people how dangerous this really is."

The people caught not wearing a seatbelt were given the option to pay a �30 fine, or take part in a �15 seatbelt awareness scheme.