9 Vehicles seized as Operation Dragoon hits Spennymoor

NINE vehicles were seized in Spennymoor on Wednesday during a multi-agency day of action.

Forming part of Cleveland and Durham Police’s ongoing ‘Operation Dragoon’, officers from the joint Specialist Operations Unit and Spennymoor Neighbourhood Policing Team targeted criminal and anti-social use of the roads in the area.

Vehicle and driver checks were carried out throughout the day to identify those driving dangerously, without insurance, whilst disqualified, or under the influence of drink or drugs.

Alongside Police were representatives from DVLA, DVSA, HMRC, and Durham County Council’s Civil Parking and Licensing Services Enforcement teams.

PC David Greenwell, of Spennymoor Beat Team, said: “Targeting this type of criminal activity is part of our routine work, but today we’re working side by side with our partner agencies to tackle ongoing issues even more effectively.

“Assistance from our partner agencies allows us to deal with the wide range of issues that present themselves better than we can by ourselves. For example, DVSA officers can examine the roadworthiness of vehicles, while HMRC staff can test fuel and cargo.”

Dave Wafer, the council’s strategic traffic manager, said: “We are committed to supporting Durham Constabulary in its campaign to tackle criminal and anti-social use of the roads in our county.

“While we know the overwhelming majority of motorists comply with the law, there are a minority who don’t and the day of action at Spennymoor allowed us to take action against people parking illegally and to speak to taxi drivers to ensure they are complying with licensing legislation.”

Results from the day were:

- 8 vehicles seized by Police for no insurance or driving without a license.
- 1 vehicle seized by DVLA, plus 4 fined and 4 clamped for no tax.
- 2 prohibitions issued by DVSA.
- 2 fixed penalty notices issued by the council’s Civil Parking Enforcement team.
- 2 taxis examined by the council’s Licensing Services Enforcement team.

A DVLA Spokesman said: “We operate a range of measures to make vehicle tax easy to pay and hard to avoid, including online vehicle taxing and Direct Debit. We also continue to send reminder letters to vehicle keepers, which is why it is so important they notify DVLA of a change of address or keeper.

“It is right that we take action against those who don’t tax their vehicles and then drive them otherwise it wouldn’t be fair to those who do the right thing. We are pleased to work with Durham Police to make sure these untaxed vehicles are not driven on the road.”

A DVSA spokesperson said: “DVSA’s priority is protecting you from unsafe drivers and vehicles.

“By working jointly with our partner agencies and Durham police, we’ve been able to target and take action against unsafe commercial vehicles in County Durham.”

Operation Dragoon continues across the region, and people are encouraged to keep an eye on Durham and Cleveland Police’s social media and #OpDragoon for regular updates and results from the everyday work carried out by their road policing unit.