Forces work together to target vehicle offences

Officers from Northamptonshire Police joined colleagues from neighbouring forces and partner agencies as part of a day of action targeting vehicle offences across three counties.

The operation was carried out with Warwickshire Police and Leicestershire Police in partnership with HM Revenue & Customs and Driver & Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) Enforcement on Thursday, September 19.

Throughout the day, officers used Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) on the A5 and A426, and as a result 40 motorists were stopped and taken to a check site off the A5/A426 roundabout for vehicle and driver checks to be carried out.

Of the vehicles stopped, 20 were seized for having no tax or insurance and a further eight were reported for various traffic offences, including no MOT or driving licence and illegal tyres.

In addition, 17 drivers were issued with immediate prohibition notices for having a vehicle in a dangerous condition, while 12 received delayed notices for a number of defects such as bald tyres and insecure loads.

PC Dave Lee of Northamptonshire Police’s Safer Road Team, said: “This is just one of many good examples of partnership working at its best. The A5 borders all three counties, so it makes sense to work together to ensure those using our roads are doing so legally.”

As a main artery for transport and bordering all three counties, The A5 Partnership was set up to provide the opportunity for all three forces to work together with partner agencies to improve road safety and tackle criminality.