152 vehicles stopped on A34 as part of police operation in Hampshire and the Thames Valley

More than 150 drivers were stopped on the A34 this week, as part of an operation to 'crackdown' on offences being committed on the road.

The dual carriageway, which is a vital link road between Winchester and Oxford, was targeted by police in several counties during two days of action.

Resources from across the Joint Operations Unit, including ANPR vans, the Commercial Vehicle Unit and the Dog Section, were deployed along the 60 miles of dual carriageway as part of a joint operation between Hampshire and Thames Valley Police.

152 vehicles, including 30 HGV’s, were stopped over Wednesday and Thursday with five arrests being made.

In one case, officers seized £12,000 and a man was arrested for money laundering and immigration offences.

26 vehicles were seized, nine of which were for no insurance.

14 Fixed Penalty Notices were issued for a variety of offences including for no MOT, not wearing a seatbelt, insecure loads and excessive driver hours.

In addition, safety camera vans detected 982 vehicles exceeding the speed limit.

Detective Chief Inspector Mike Bettington, of the Joint Operations Roads Policing Unit, said: “This is one of the biggest deployments of our Roads Policing resources and skillsets for an operation such as this.

“The aim being that anyone driving on the A34 could be stopped by officers who were seeking to detect, deter and disrupt drivers who were committing any offences.

“As such, we stopped over 150 vehicles for a variety of offences.

“Keeping the roads safe is a priority for the JOU Roads Policing Department and we have managed to take a number of dangerous drivers and vehicles off the roads.

“Road safety is not something to be taken lightly and our Roads Policing Units work tirelessly to keep our roads safe every day.”