At least 15 motorists are to be prosecuted for using a mobile phone to take pictures or video of a four-lorry pile-up.

The collision happened on the A14 between Histon and Girton, in Cambridgeshire, at about 5.45am on Thursday and involved a lorry carrying seven and a half tonnes of teddy bears. Two of the lorry drivers suffered minor injuries.

Crown Prosecution Service figures show there were 7,380 prosecutions for using a mobile phone while driving in 2011, 10 times as many as six years earlier. However, this figure is dwarfed by the number of motorists using their mobile phones while driving, which was more than 500,000 last year, according to a government survey published in February.

A Cambridgeshire police spokesman said: “So far, at least 15 motorists have been stopped for filming or taking pictures of the crash site with mobile phones and are due to be prosecuted.”

Cambridgeshire fire and rescue service had to cut one of the drivers from his lorry using specialist equipment. East of England ambulance service said the other injured man had chest pains. A spokesman said: “The patients were both fully conscious and were treated at the scene before being taken to Addenbrooke’s hospital for further care. Neither of the patients’ injuries are thought to be life-threatening.”

The crash caused heavy congestion in the area. One lane of the A14 remained closed at midday but was expected to reopen at 1pm. Police have asked for witnesses to the collision to contact them.

Phones may only be used when safely parked or when it is an emergency and it is not possible to stop. People who break the law can get an automatic fixed penalty notice of three penalty points and a fine of £100. If prosecuted, offenders can be disqualified from driving and get a maximum fine of £1,000.