National road net traps crooks in their cars

Thirty-three suspects were arrested and 37 vehicles confiscated as officers used hi-tech cameras to intercept drug deals and catch violent offenders.

Police used Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) systems, which scan thousands of vehicles and alert officers if any are believed to be involved in crime.

More than 920,000 vehicles were scanned in Yorkshire between 7am on Friday and 7am on Saturday, including one which contained 10,000 in cash.

One vehicle pulled over contained cannabis and "weaponry". Police found more weapons when they searched a property linked to the vehicle.

Similar seizures were made across the UK in a drive by the Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO) to have every ANPR team in the country working on the same day.

The Yorkshire Post joined an operation in Bradford, during which a driver was stopped and arrested in connection with an assault that had happened days before.

Deputy Chief Constable Mark Whyman, who oversees regional policing in Yorkshire, said: "This is a significant contribution from the region to the national ANPR day of action, which was about putting all the ANPR teams on the road at the same time to provide a net to catch criminals and confiscate their assets.

"The ANPR teams in Yorkshire are on the road every day of the year and produce excellent results.

"They have already recovered over 5m worth of assets and are proving effective in denying criminals use of the road through intelligence-led techniques."