Vehicles were seized and motorists fined during stop checks by police in a bid to disrupt other crime.

Run by the Kent Special Constabulary’s Roads Policing Unit, the volunteer officers carried out the operation in Dartford across last weekend to remove uninsured, untaxed and defective vehicles from the roads, and to disrupt any criminal activities that may have been planned.

Regular officers from Kent Police’s Road Safety Unit also assisted with the operation along with North Division Specials and other colleagues from the Metropolitan Police Service.

Fifteen traffic offences reports and seven fines were issued for a variety of motoring offences while two vehicles were seized for being uninsured or untaxed. A further eight motorists received prohibition notices which prevent them driving their vehicles until serious and unsafe mechanical defects are fixed.

One person, a 46-year-old woman from Chatham, was also arrested on suspicion of drug-driving after her vehicle was spotted being driven erratically. She was later released from custody pending further inquiries.

Special Sergeant David Craggs, who led the operation, said: "This was a highly successful operation that sadly demonstrates there are still too many motorists committing traffic offences and putting other people’s lives at risk.

"Driving an unsafe vehicle or committing an offence such as driving whilst under the influence of drink or drugs makes it much more likely that you or someone else will be killed or seriously injured in the event of a collision. We will continue to carry out operations such as this in the future to reduce the risk for law-abiding motorists and help make our roads safer for everyone."

Special Constables are unpaid volunteers who have the same powers as regular police officers. They are required to give up at least 16 hours of their own time every month to help police their local communities, with many juggling full-time jobs in order to do so.

The Special Roads Policing Unit assists regular officers by attending collisions, searching for stolen vehicles and responding to reports of speeding, bad driving and other motoring offences.

Anyone interested in becoming a Special should visit www.kent.police.uk/specials or follow @KentSpecials on Twitter.

Read more: All the latest news from Dartford