Drivers fined in metal theft blitz (From Gazette & Herald)

Drivers fined in metal theft blitz

9:27am Tuesday 16th October 2012 in News

A POLICE crackdown on metal theft in North Yorkshire has seen four drivers fined, five vehicles seized and a string of fines handed out.

More than 100 North Yorkshire Police officers joined staff from other organisations for a 24-hour initiative called Operation Tornado, with travelling criminals, scrap carriers, metal dealers and motorists using illegal fuel or driving unsafe vehicles all being targeted.

Roadside checks were carried out on vehicles using main routes through the region, with the Environment Agency, the Vehicle and Operator Services Agency, HM Revenue and Customs, the Benefits Agency and Hambleton and Richmondshire Rural Watch all involved.

In total, 76 vehicles were stopped and checked, with ten people reported for summons – eight for vehicle defects and two for waste-carrier licence offences - four drivers fined for using illegal red diesel, five uninsured vehicles seized and 10 fines issued for various offences.

Eight motorists were issued with prohibition notices due to defects on their vehicles, one stolen vehicle was recovered and four offences relating to “itinerant” scrap metal-carriers were discovered.

Visits were made to scrap dealers to ensure they were complying with rules, with 22 vehicles stopped and 12 enforcement notices for road offences issued in York alone.

Temporary Chief Inspector Sarah Jane Sanderson said: “The good news is we have a significant reduction in metal theft, but the bad news for criminals is we will not stop in our quest to disrupt their activity and keep them out of North Yorkshire and York.”