A drink-driver was arrested, drugs searches made and uninsured cars seized in a multi-agency operation to make roads safer in villages outside Huddersfield.   

Officers from Kirklees Police have warned they could attend anywhere at any time in the district after catching in excess of 20 drivers either committing offences or driving unroadworthy vehicles in just one day in Shepley and Kirkburton. 

Police from the district’s Catch and Control Team, joined with partners from the Kirklees Rural NPT, roads policing officers, Kirklees Council and the DVLA for the special day of operations on Wednesday August 24. 

Speed and vehicle checks were carried out on Huddersfield Road at Kirkburton and Abbey Road at Shepley following public concern about driving in the area. 

During the operation one person was arrested for driving whilst under the influence of alcohol, and two cars were seized for being driven without insurance. Two commercial vehicles were also seized by the DVLA for not being roadworthy. 

Sixteen drivers were also issued with tickets for offences of including speeding, tyre tread being below the legal limit, seatbelts not being worn and driving without insurance.

A further person was reported for driving with no insurance and no licence, and a driver was searched on suspicion of drugs offences. Six taxis were checked and issued with two rectification notices for inappropriate condition. 

The Kirklees Catch and Control team was formed this year to both track down and manage persistent offenders and also provide a specialist resource to assist in policing operations across Kirklees.  

Insp Vanessa Briggs, of the Kirklees Rural NPT, said: “I want to thank partners from our roads policing unit, DVLA and Kirklees Council for their support. This operation should make clear that poor practices on our roads will not be tolerated anywhere in Kirklees and police could attend anywhere at any time. 

“We continue to urge residents to report road safety concerns to their NPT and promise that officers do assess all information received and use it to plan operations like this.” 

PC George Rawlinson, of the Kirklees Catch and Control Team, said: “We carried out this multi-agency operation in Shepley and Kirkburton following intelligence regarding road safety there and I hope this action has reassured residents that we are listening and will act on their concerns. 

“Clearly officers uncovered quite an amount of unsafe and illegal activity on the roads and those drivers are being dealt with, with one person now charged for court for drink-driving.”