A police initiative in Northumberland has resulted in 25 vehicles being seized because the people behind the wheel did not have car insurance, it has been revealed.

Operation Magnitude used automatic number plate recognition to scan registrations and compare them to details on a database, in order to identify vehicles of potential interest.

Commenting on the initiative, Chief Inspector Simon Packham said honest motorists would benefit from the crackdown drivers who do not have the necessary cover.

"It is a fact that uninsured cars are used by criminals to commit crime," he stated.

He added: "By taking them off the roads we can ... cut crime and improve the safety of other road users."

Owners of cars which have been seized have seven days to produce valid documents and pay £120 plus storage costs or their vehicles will be crushed.

Elsewhere, in West Yorkshire a police operation to prevent criminals using the roads saw 40 penalty notices handed out for a variety of offences.

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