Vehicles that were overweight, one with an insecure load and another was taken off the road after a day of police checks on commercial vehicles.  

Cambridgeshire Police issued £1,000 in fines to drivers as part of a targeted operation to clampdown on such vehicles with defects on the roads. 

Road Policing Officers from the Commercial Vehicle Unit teamed up with the Driving Standards and Vehicle Agency to carry out checks at Sawtry Weighbridge.  

Sixteen vehicles were stopped throughout the day. 

Fourteen were weighed, with four receiving a £200 fine each for being overweight and two others were given words of advice.  

One driver was fined £100 and reported for having an insecure load. Another was fined £100 and reported for not having a seatbelt.  

One driver was even found to be driving without a licence.  

Officials also prohibited a vehicle from using the road because it was in such a dangerous condition and deemed unroadworthy.  

Those that were found to be overweight had to remove some of the contents of their vehicles before returning to collect it with a lighter load later in the day.   

Sgt Chris Payne, from the Commercial Vehicle Unit, said: “This was a successful operation which we conduct frequently to ensure commercial vehicles are safe and adhering to rules on the roads.  

“It is important we remove drivers and vehicles that could cause collisions.  
  
“Driving with defects is a serious offence and puts the lives of other road users and pedestrians at serious risk of harm.  

“We will continue this crackdown to improve road safety on the county’s roads.”  

The checks happened at Sawtry Weighbridge which is off the A1M, south of Peterborough.