ESSEX Police stopped and checked dozens of vehicles during an operation at Thurrock to increase road safety and to detect offenders using the roads.
Operation Surround A Town on Friday August 14 was carried out by officers from Essex Police, road safety officers from Thurrock Council and by other agencies including Border Force and HM Revenue and Customs.
Officers used automatic number plate recognition technology (ANPR) to identify suspect drivers and vehicles and police spotters kept watch at the roadside for offences such as using a mobile telephone while driving or not wearing seat belts.
Offenders were taken to check sites at Lodge Lane, Grays, Moto services, West Thurrock and at South Road, South Ockendon.
Fifteen people were seen driving while using a mobile phone and were given a £100 fine and three penalty points on their licence but were also given the option of attending a national driver improvement scheme.
A total of 61 people were seen driving without seat belts were also given a £100 fine with the option of attending a driver improvement scheme.
Fourteen drivers were fined £100 for not having a valid MOT and one car was seized and the driver fined £300 and given six penalty points for being uninsured.
Seven drivers were each fined £50 for have illegally-altered number plates.
The driver of a stretch limo taking a hen party from Croydon to a hotel in north Essex was fined £300 for driver hours offences and allowed to continue his journey.
The driver of a lorry loaded with beer worth more than £100,000 and travelling from France to Northern Ireland was stopped for a routine check and found to have an insecure load.
Further investigations revealed that the owners of the vehicle had their operator’s licence revoked in May this year and were also suspected of owing more than £60,000 in fines imposed for carrying illegal immigrants. The lorry was detained by Border Force pending further enquiries. The driver was also fined £100 for having an insecure load.
