Two arrested in crackdown

7:17pm Wednesday 7th November 2007

CHECK-ups on vechicle number plates led to the arrests of two people and seizure of three vehicles in a multi-agency operation in Kidderminster.

The ANPR - Automatic Number Plate Recognition - operation took place near the Park Gate pub, Stourbridge Road, on Monday.

The eight-hour operation involved officers from the North Worcestershire road policing unit, as well as the ANPR team from force headquarters, along with representatives of VOSA - the Vehicle and Operator Services Agency - Inland Revenue and Wyre Forest District Council.

While the police concentrated on crime and motoring offences, its partner organisations looked at issues such as whether vehicles were roadworthy or waste transport regulations were being complied with.

The ANPR system works by special cameras installed in police cars and vans reading the number plates of passing vehicles on both sides of the road and checking them against databases such as the Police National Computer and DVLA records to identify vehicles which are untaxed, have no insurance, have been stolen or are otherwise of interest.

When the system sounds an alert, the police pull over the vehicle. In total 3,700 vehicle registration plates were read on Monday, producing 105 "hits".

Two people were arrested on suspicion of a burglary in Bridgnorth, three vehicles were seized - two for no insurance and one for no tax - and five £60 fixed penalty tickets were given out for using mobile phones while driving.

Sgt Mark Layton, of North Worcestershire road policing unit, said: "The Park Gate is an ideal location for this type of operation because of its proximity to both the A451 Stourbridge Road and the A449 Wolverhampton Road, which enables us to monitor traffic coming into and leaving Kidderminster on two major routes connecting North Worcestershire with the West Midlands.

"We also regularly use a site on the Stourport Road in Kidderminster and the Whittington pub car park near Kinver."

He added: "Further operations in Wyre Forest will take place in the run-up to Christmas as part of our ongoing efforts to drive down crime in North Worcestershire."