Our road crime team carried out proactive enforcement against those failing to meet expected safety standards on our roads, focussing on abnormal loads and commercial vehicles.

They took part in a multi-agency operation alongside National Highways, the National Vehicle Crime Intelligence Service (NaVCIS), the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA), West Midlands Police, Lancashire Police, Northumbria Police and Greater Manchester Police, on Wednesday (15 January).

Several abnormal loads were escorted into a check site off the M6 in Stafford for examination.

Four abnormal loads were found to be moving through our county without the required movement notification, resulting in them being taken off the road until the correct paperwork was issued.

Multiple commercial vehicles with insecure loads were also stopped, including two vehicles carrying boats, those with loads secured with straps instead of chains, those secured with straps that did not meet the required payload capacity, and those with straps that were in a poor condition.

Drivers were required to secure their loads safely before being allowed to continue their journeys, or prohibited from moving on.

Abnormal loads officer, Pc Nigel Maddox, said: “It was a busy and successful morning, resulting in a number of drivers being dealt with for a variety of offences. We also passed on safety advice to help them avoid being stopped in future.

“Operations such as this ensure that oversized loads are moving correctly throughout our county, reducing the risk they pose to the load drivers and other road users.

“We will continue to work with partners on similar operations to keep our roads safe.”

National Highways Assistant Regional Safety Co-ordinator, Marie Biddulph, said: “No driver sets out to cause injury but they risk doing that just by not keeping up to date with the latest guidelines around abnormal loads and carrying out a few simple checks.

“Safety is always the priority for National Highways so we want to support all drivers and make our roads as safe as they can be.

“There is a huge responsibility that comes with transporting any load and our goal is to make sure drivers are complying with regulations and have checked their vehicles before setting off so both they and their cargo arrives at the destination safe and sound.”