GWENT Police joined forces with partner agencies on Friday, for the latest staging of Operation Utah

Operation Utah is a multi-agency operation designed to deny criminals the use of roads in Gwent and crackdown on vehicles putting other motorists at risk.

The operation has been taking place for the last 15 years across Gwent and this time took place in Tredegar.

During the course of the day, a large number of vehicles were brought into the Tafarnaubach Industrial Estate from the surrounding roads by police officers.

HMRC assisted officers during the day alongside representatives from Blaenau Gwent Council Taxi Licensing and Scrap Metal Licensing, checking for tachographical offences and adequate record keeping.

The Operation is aided by Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) cameras, both in police cars and on the roads, to identify potential offences.

Throughout the day, 47 vehicles were stopped and checked in total.

The results were as follows;

• 1 driver dealt with for disqualified driving

• 1 driver issued an on the spot fine for £570 for red fuel by HMRC

• 8 vehicles seized for Section 165 – No Insurance

• 6 drivers reported for No Insurance

• 3 drivers reported for driving other in accordance of a driving licence

• 7 prohibitions issued for defect on vehicles

• 3 Traffic Offence Reports issued for defective number plates

• 5 Traffic Offence Reports issued for no MOT

• 2 reports for scrap metal offences to council licensing

West Area Support Unit Inspector Wendy Keepin, who led the Operation, said: "These Operations are a real joint effort between a variety of different agencies, in an effort to make Blaenau Gwent roads as safe as possible.

“This operation helps to tackle those road users who drive recklessly and endanger other road users by driving vehicles with dangerous defects or by not adhering to safety regulations.

“I hope these results send out a clear message to anyone using our road in an unsafe way that this is not acceptable and when identified, they will be dealt with robustly.

"I would like to thank everyone that made this operation possible and a success, and look forward to working together again on Operation Utah in the future."