Police lay in wait on the main roads to and from York, tracking offenders and preparing for the challenge of keeping the region safe during major events such as the 2012 Olympics.

The results of the one-day exercise, codenamed Operation Orbit, will be used to assess the ability of the region's police forces to tackle major incidents such as child abduction, kidnapping or terrorist attacks.

The operation was led by Adam Briggs, deputy chief constable of North Yorkshire Police and president of Tispol, an organisation which brings together traffic police from across Europe.

It involved the police's Strategic Roads Unit and seven forces from the north of England - North Yorkshire, West Yorkshire, South Yorkshire, Humberside, Northumbria, Durham and Cleveland.

They were joined by 60 police officers from more than 20 European countries, who observed as suspicious vehicles were ordered off the road for inspection.

Police chiefs hope similar exercises will be conducted on the continent as traffic officers look to reduce the number of deaths on Europe's roads.

About 42,600 people were killed on roads in the EU last year – including eight a day on average in Britain – and statistics show that traffic collisions are the biggest cause of death among young people.

Mr Briggs said Operation Orbit, which focused on major routes including the A1, A64 and A19, would "send out a clear message" to criminals using roads.

"There has never been an operation of this kind on this scale before," he added.

"It will give a unique insight into the use of the roads by criminals and also assess and develop our capability to deal with major incidents and high security events such as the 2012 Olympics."

Operation Orbit got under way at 2pm, when police officers gathered at Imphal Barracks in York for a briefing about the areas to be targeted.

Shortly afterwards, more than 40 police vehicles, including motorcycles, cars and vans, were sent to key sites around the city.

Officers then monitored every vehicle travelling on roads to and from York.

They were using cameras and "advanced number plate recognition" technology, which can scan a car and provide instant details about its owner from its registration.

They were helped by an Oscar 99 helicopter, provided by Humberside Police and equipped with still and moving image cameras worth about £750,000.

The helicopter's nose-mounted high definition camera can be rotated 360 degrees and is linked to a special postcode mapping system to help police track down offenders.

Able to read car number plates from more than a mile away and provide crystal clear footage for use in court, it is the first camera of its kind to be fitted to a non-military aircraft.

Police strike teams halted any vehicles which appeared suspicious, and all data was processed at the operation's nerve centre, a control room at Fulford Road police station in York.

The control team's next task will be to analyse the results of the operation, which ended at 5.30pm. A full rundown of the number of vehicles stopped and arrests made is due to be released today.