Horrific footage shows the moment a trucker kills three children and a woman in a head-on smash as he was using his mobile phone.

The dashcam video has been released by police in the South of England as tougher penalties on drivers using phones at the wheel come into force today (Wednesday).

The new rules mean penalties will double to a £200 fine and six points on your licence – while drivers who have passed their test in the past two years may have their licence revoked if caught.

Huddersfield motorists have already been caught out and reported, police said today.

But the release of the video has shocked viewers, as family of those killed in a horrific accident on the A34 in Berkshire last year speak out on the pain caused by the accident.

Lorry driver Tomasz Kroker was changing music on his phone while driving at 50mph when he slammed into stalled cars on the road.

Handout photo issued by Thames Valley Police of the scene after Tomasz Kroker's lorry ploughed into a stationary car killing a woman and three children, while he was scrolling through music on his mobile phone
Handout photo issued by Thames Valley Police of the scene after Tomasz Kroker's lorry ploughed into a stationary car killing a woman and three children, while he was scrolling through music on his mobile phone

Tracy Houghton, 45, died instantly along with her sons Ethan, 13, and Joshua, 11, and her partner’s daughter Aimee Goldsmith, also 11.

Kroker was jailed for 10 years for causing the accident.

Huddersfield road safety charity Brake have backed the tougher penalties.

Gary Rae, from the charity, said: “Everyone who drives has to step up and take responsibility.

“If every driver vowed to slow down, never drink alcohol or take drugs, never use their phones or other devices then our roads would be safer places for everyone.”

The charity have carried out research among drivers in Yorkshire which has revealed that speeding and distracted drivers are considered to be the biggest reasons for accidents.

More than eight in 10 drivers ranked the factors as the most likely to result in a crash, while one in 10 claimed drink and drug-driving were the deadliest factors.

West Yorkshire Police revealed today that several drivers had already been caught and landed with fines during patrols in the Lindley and Marsh areas.

Officers have been patrolling Marsh and Lindley areas as tougher penalties on using phones at the wheel come into force
Officers have been patrolling Marsh and Lindley areas as tougher penalties on using phones at the wheel come into force

Posting on Facebook, Huddersfield police wrote that two officers had been out “stopping drivers using mobile phones and enforcing the new penalties.”

Lindley Tory councillor Gemma Wilson backed the patrols and said: “I am fully supportive of the police conducting mobile phone checks within my ward area.

“I think that the new harsher penalties of six points and a £200 fine will go a long way to deterring would-be offenders.”