Police placed what they termed “a ring of steel” around Morecambe on Wednesday, to crack down on offenders coming in to the town to commit crime.
Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) technology was used on the roads into the town so that officers could use intelligence to target travelling criminals.
The lockdown lead to 42 vehicles being stopped and checked over by police. As a result, eight motorists were found to be operating scrap metal businesses without the correct licence – three of whom then had their vehicles seized for being unroadworthy.
14 motorists were given fixed penalty notices – six for using mobiles while driving, one for having poor quality tyres, three for not wearing their seatbelts and four for document offences. Officers also seized a further eight vehicles for being unroadworthy.
The activity took place as part of Operation Belevedere, which is aimed at reducing serious acquisitive crime.
Chief Inspector Ian Dawson, Lancashire Police, said: “The ring of steel we created using the ANPR system highlights the fact that we will use all the tools available to us to stop criminals from travelling into the area to commit crime.
“People can be reassured that if they come to Morecambe to go about their legitimate business they will be welcomed – but criminals intent on travelling to Morecambe to commit offences will be caught and dealt with appropriately.”