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Motorway tailgaters and middle-lane hoggers are to face quick justice with on-the-spot fixed penalties under new measures announced by the government.

From July, police will be able to issue £100 fines and three points for careless driving offences that would currently have to go to court.

The idea is to target offenders without the need for lengthy court procedures.

Current fixed penalties for using a phone while driving or not wearing a seatbelt will also rise by £40 to £100.

The move brings careless driving offences into line with the penalties for similar non-motoring fixed penalties. Drivers will still be able to appeal against any decision through the courts.

People guilty of careless driving will face fixed penalties or the chance to go on a driving course, but the more serious examples will continue to go through the courts, where offenders could face much higher fines and penalties.

Many offences currently go unpunished because of the bureaucracy involved in taking a case to court.

Not only does a motorist have to be stopped by the police, but a summons has to be issued and evidence presented in court.

Road Safety Minister Stephen Hammond said: "Careless drivers are a menace and their negligence puts innocent people's lives at risk.

"That is why we are making it easier for the police to tackle problem drivers by allowing them to immediately issue a fixed penalty notice rather than needing to take every offender to court."

The AA said responsible drivers would welcome the changes.

"We are also pleased to see that at long last new powers and fines will be given to the police to tackle the top three pet hates of drivers - tailgaters, mobile phone abusers and middle lane hogs," said AA president Edmund King

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Syrian pro-government forces have taken full control of the strategic town of Qusair, state TV and the rebels say.

The town, near the Lebanese border, has been the centre of fighting for more than two weeks between rebels and Syrian troops backed by fighters from the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah.

Syrian state TV said a large number of rebels had died and many had surrendered.

The rebels said they withdrew overnight in the face of a massive assault.

Earlier, the military leader of the main rebel umbrella group, the Free Syrian Army, said his fighters were prepared to take the conflict inside Lebanon in pursuit of Hezbollah fighters.

Gen Selim Idriss of the Free Syrian Army - the main umbrella rebel group - told the BBC that Hezbollah fighters were "invading" Syria and Lebanon was doing nothing to stop them.

Qusair lies just 10km (six miles) from the Lebanese border and along major supply routes.

Syrian pro-government forces, including Hezbollah fighters, have been battling rebels for control of the town for more than two weeks.

But on Wednesday, Syria's Sana state news agency said the "heroic armed forces have returned security and stability to all of the town".

Sana said a large number of "terrorists", as the state refers to the rebels, had been killed and many had surrendered. It said the army was now destroying barricades and weapons caches and searching the town for explosives.

In Lebanon, Hezbollah's Al-Manar TV reported "widespread collapse" of the rebel forces in the town, while one Hezbollah fighter told Reuters news agency: "We did a sudden surprise attack in the early hours and entered the town. They escaped."

In a statement also quoted by Reuters, the rebels said: "In face of this huge arsenal and lack supplies and the blatant intervention of Hezbollah... tens of fighters stayed behind and ensured the withdrawal of their comrades along with the civilians."

The British-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, an activist group that monitors the conflict, said Hezbollah fighters had "overrun" Qusair after an "intense bombardment cover overnight by regime forces, which continued until dawn today".

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