A POLICE operation to identify whether or not vehicles carrying dangerous goods were safe, found several which were not compliant with the law.

An operation carried out on a stretch of the southbound carriageway of the A19 near Portrack, Stockton, found five vehicles that were carrying chemicals had various issues and posed potential safety hazards.

The five vehicles were found to have issues such as discharged fire extinguishers, information panels that had been obscured and documentation that was not fully compliant with UK regulations.

A number of waste carriers were checked, while one was found to have a mechanical defect.

PC Amanda Stokes of the Cleveland and Durham Specialist Operations Unit said: “The aim of this operation is to identify any issues which could potentially put the public at risk and rectify these. Ourselves and our colleagues from North Yorkshire Police and the Environment Agency checked a total of 25 vehicles, resulting in six road safety issues which would need to be rectified in order to help safeguard other motorists and road users.

“We will continue to carry out proactive operations like this, particularly in regard to high risk vehicles, in order to keep people safe on our roads.”