Traffic offences brought to book in South Northants

Following community concerns about road safety in the south Northamptonshire area, police and partners held a successful traffic operation earlier this week.

On Tuesday (December 10), officers from the South Northants Neighbourhood Policing Team (NPT), were joined by colleagues from the Force’s Serious Collision Investigation Unit, Safer Roads, Roads Policing, and Rural Crime teams, as well as volunteer special constables and the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) and His Majesty’s Revenue and Customs (HMRC).

Working around Jack’s Hill on the A5 near to Towcester, the operation saw nearly 40 vehicles brought to a stop site where any identified offences were dealt with, with the Force’s Interceptors team sweeping the surrounding area to identify and bring in potentially suspect vehicles and their drivers or riders.

Results from the day included the identification of three tyre offences, three overweight vehicles, 11 vehicles with insecure loads, one without a tachograph fitted, and one driver without insurance.

Words of advice were given to 15 people on issues including insurance administration, defective lights and vehicle modifications.

Two drivers were reported for driving otherwise than in accordance with a licence, and one man was arrested on suspicion of a theft offence.

NPT Sergeant Lorna Clarke said: “We organised this day of action following submissions via our locally identified priorities survey (LIPS), where residents had expressed concerns about road safety in the area.

“We take action on traffic offences on a daily basis, but by joining up with other policing teams and our DVSA colleagues we were able to expand that work significantly to help keep people safer on the roads, especially during the darker winter months.

“I’d like to thank everyone who let us know their worries around road safety and traffic issues, and hope this operation demonstrates how seriously we take those concerns.

“I’d also like to thank all the officers, DVSA and HMRC staff who took part – and especially PC Kate Rideout of South Northants NPT, who organised and coordinated our work.”