POLICE targeting scrap metal thieves pulled over 78 vehicles on the region’s roads yesterday.

A national day of action saw officers from the Cleveland and Durham forces join together in an operation to tackle metal theft.

The vehicles were stopped and checked for stolen metal and defects on the A66, near the Long Newton junction.

Although no stolen metal was recovered during the operation, nine prohibitions were issued for a range of offences, including worn brake pads and tyres and frayed seatbelts.

Six penalty notices were handed out to drivers travelling without insurance or MoT certificate and two vehicles were seized for having no insurance.

A trailer suspected to have been stolen was also seized.

Acting Sergeant Jason Coverdale said: “While we have not recovered any stolen scrap metal today, this does not mean that we are being complacent.

“Nationally, metal theft has risen during the past 18 months and railway cables, power cables, communication lines and street furniture have all been taken by criminals looking to get cash from disreputable dealers. We will continue to carry out operations that target these criminals in a bid to stop them exploiting the cash-based system. Today, we stopped drivers that were using uninsured vehicles on our roads and we found vehicles that were in a dangerous and unroadworthy condition.

We check vehicles regularly to keep the roads in our area as safe as we can and to prevent, wherever possible, incidents involving vehicles that are not properly maintained.”