Police have stopped 43 vehicles on the A12 in Boreham as part of an operation to clampdown on trailers and caravans being towed dangerously.

Road safety officers teamed up with partners, the National Vehicle Crime Intelligence Service and CRiS, which helps prevent and deter caravan crime, yesterday, Wednesday, April 4.

Police found 17 vehicles being towed with incorrectly fitted cables and in some circumstances they had no breakaway cables fitted at all.

They also discovered vehicles with tyres over the recommended age of five years and found one driver behind the wheel without the appropriate HGV licence. Three points have since been added to his driving licence.

The officers dealt with three vehicles for being overloaded and three for having mechanical fault. Three of these drivers received fines totalling £700. A horse box was also seized after receiving intelligence that it was stolen.

The vehicles stopped were either fined, given words of advice or had to make improvements to their vehicles at Boreham Services Lorry Park.

Pc Gary Winfield, of Essex Police’s Casualty Reduction Unit, said: “The operation was a success with 43 drivers towing large vehicles facing enforcement action, receiving fines or spoken to.

“We often find that vehicles towing caravans or trailers have either travelled long distances or about to make long journeys. If these vehicles were allowed to continue on their journeys, there could have been very serious consequences.

“There are no excuses for vehicles being towed dangerously, which could potentially cause serious injury or death, and we will continue to carry out more of these operations to help make Essex’s roads safer.”