Crackdown on vehicle crime

Police in the Highlands will continue to target commercial vehicle crime following a week- long campaign which resulted in more than 70 offences being detected.

The operation also helped to snare a man wanted for bogus work men offences.

Tachograph, insecure loads, illegal weights, seatbelt, speeding, tyre defects and drug offences were among the crimes uncovered.

Officers took part in the national truck and bus campaign which is carried out simultaneously throughout the UK.

Between October 10-14 mobile and static checks were carried out by officers on the A87 at the Skye Bridge, the A82/A830 at Fort William, and the A9 at Brora and Dalwhinnie.

A multi-agency day of action was also carried out in Inverness with partners that included the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency, Trading Standards and HMRC road fuel section.

Con stable Martin Macrae, from the Trunk Road Patrol Group, said: “We appreciate the time it takes to carry out these checks and I would like to assure people that the reason these operations take place is to detect and deter travelling criminals, bogus workers and rouge operators, which ensures a level playing field for all businesses and operators, whilst keeping our road networks safe.”