Police report motoring offences and vehicle defects in Stourport operation (From Kidderminster Shuttle)

Police report motoring offences and vehicle defects in Stourport operation

8:55am Saturday 9th March 2013 in Local

MOTORISTS were dealt with for having defective vehicles and offences including carrying a toddler without a child car seat when West Mercia Police ran a multi-agency operation on the Worcester Road at Stourport on Thursday.

Officers from the Force Operations Support Team (FOST) and Stourport Safer Neighbourhood Team were joined by officials from Wyre Forest District Council and Vehicle and Operator Services Agency for the operation during the morning and early afternoon.

Dozens of drivers were directed by police on to the car park of the Rose and Crown pub where checks were carried out in a dedicated bay.

Automatic Number Plate Recognition technology was used to scan the registrations of passing vehicles and identify drivers suspected of motoring offences or involvement in crime.

Defects such as damaged and bald tyres and faulty indicators were identified and tickets issued under the Vehicle Defect Rectification Scheme. Two vehicles were found to be overladen.

Drivers were reported for a variety of offences including not having a MOT certificate, having registration plates which did not conform to regulations and using mobile phones at the wheel. In one instance a driver was reported for illegally carrying a toddler in the vehicle without a child car seat.

As part of a crackdown on metal thefts officers also targeted vans and trucks carrying scrap metal to ensure they had the necessary licences.

PC Paul Modley, who organised the operation, said: “It was pleasing to note that on this occasion the drivers of all the scrap metal vehicles we stopped did have the correct Waste Carrier Licences and other documentation.

“We know criminals use vehicles to commit crimes ranging from burglary to drugs offences and highly visible operations such as this are designed to disrupt their activities and reassure our communities. The vast majority of the drivers we stopped were co-operative and supportive of what we were doing and we also had favourable comments from residents.

“The support of our colleagues from the other agencies was invaluable in ensuring the vehicles stopped were roadworthy and had the necessary documentation.

“We were very pleased with how it went and we will continue to organise operations like this at various sites throughout Wyre Forest in the future.”