DORSET Police say the county is relatively free of asylum seekers being caught behind the wheel without the correct driving documents.

Some police forces have reported that illegal driving by refugees has reached epidemic proportions.

Wolverhampton Police say six asylum seekers an hour are caught at the wheel without licences, tax, insurance or MOTs.

It is believed the immigrants hold driving licences in their homelands but fail to convert them to UK documents as they legally must after a year.

The countrywide menace of illegal drivers has been highlighted by a number of recent tragedies - including that of Callum Oakford who was killed by hit-and-run driver Algerian Kamel Kadri and teacher Deborah Peaty. She and her unborn child died when her car was hit by a BMW allegedly being driven by Sri Lankan Ratnam Yogan. He was charged with causing her death but later fled the country.

Chief Inspector Glen Chalk, head of Dorset Police's road policing unit, said: "Nothing has been brought to my attention that would suggest a problem in the county. We do undertake periodical operations with the immigration service to continually assess the situation and have established links with that agency to supplement these operation measures.

"Uninsured and unqualified drivers are inherently unsafe and will remain a focus of police attention to ensure the public can use the roads safely and free from the fear of danger."