FOUR people were arrested and dozens of offences uncovered during a major crackdown on unsafe vehicles and illegal working on Wiltshire’s roads.

The joint operation took place on Thursday, March 5, with officers from the Roads Policing Unit working alongside the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency and UK Immigration Enforcement.

Teams carried out roadside checks across the county targeting dangerous vehicles and drivers suspected of using fraudulent documents.

(Picture: Wiltshire Police)

Four people were arrested for immigration offences and £4,500 in cash was seized.

Officers also uncovered a long list of motoring offences, including drivers using mobile phones behind the wheel, overloaded vehicles and dangerously worn tyres.

(Picture: Wiltshire Police)

In total, police recorded four mobile phone offences, 14 overweight vehicle offences, ten tyre offences and three tachograph offences.

Other offences included careless driving, not being in proper control of a vehicle and number plates not conforming to regulations.

Several vehicles were also found with lighting defects, defective brakes and unsafe loads.

(Picture: Wiltshire Police)

In one particularly concerning case, the tread on a tyre was measured at just 1.08mm – well below the legal limit of 1.6mm.

Drivers caught during the operation were issued with tickets and their vehicles were prohibited from continuing their journeys until the faults were fixed.

Roads Policing officer Mike Handscomb said: “This has been a hugely successful day of collaborative working to combat unsafe vehicles and illegal working on our roads.

“The roadworthiness of vehicles is critical to keeping other road users safe. Overweight or incorrectly loaded vehicles, or those with bare tyres, pose significant dangers to other drivers due to the impact it can have on braking and steering.

“We also know that drivers using fraudulent documents on the roads has links to immigration offences and organised crime, potentially enabling exploitation.

“We will continue to proactively conduct operations like these to ensure our roads are as safe as possible.”