PEOPLE ignoring court fines on Teesside face Christmas behind bars.

Hundreds of not so artful dodgers have already realised there is no escaping the long arm of the law.

More than 220 people found themselves escorted to their local police station by police and court enforcement officers, following a series of early morning raids across Teesside.

And the blitz is set to continue, with a stark warning from Cleveland Police that failure to pay up before there is a knock on the door, could mean Christmas in prison.

"It will be in their interests to pay up, or they could find themselves looking forward to Christmas in a prison cell," said Chief Insp Gary Stephenson .

As for the string of raids, dubbed Operation Payback, many fine dodgers paid up immediately to avoid being brought before magistrates, with the result that nearly £7,000 has been paid into the court. Others, who appeared before the magistrates, received a range of sentences - including jail.

Chief Insp Stephenson said: "Many people thought they could just turn their back on the courts and nothing would be done. This group have discovered reality is somewhat different and the long arm of the law can - and will reach out for them

"More than 700 warrants have been executed and the message we have for those with outstanding fines and compensation orders is simple: 'We have your names, we know where you live and you should expect a knock on your door.'"

Special Courts at Teesside and Hartlepool have also sat from 8am each day to deal with those detained.

Anne Smith, head of fines and fees for Teesside and Hartlepool Magistrates' Courts, said: "Anyone with outstanding warrants for non-payment of fines is advised to contact the courts to avoid being arrested as part of the crackdown on defaulters."

Chief Insp Stephenson added: "We deliberately kept this operation low profile to ensure none of the people listed in the first phase of this operation could get wind of it and go to ground. To say they were surprised is an understatement."