POLICE took a deadly skip wagon off the road yesterday after it was found to have 19 loose wheel nuts, as officers targeted heavy goods and commercial vehicles.

The skip lorry, which could have lost two wheels and caused a serious accident at any time, was one of 14 vehicles handed prohibition notices as Cleveland Police carried out stop-checks yesterday.

Police forces up and down the country teamed up with other agencies to carry out the latest stage of Operation Mermaid.

The aim of the operation was to ensure that heavy goods and commercial vehicles were roadworthy and licensed, and that their drivers were abiding by the law.

Out of 65 lorries, trucks and tankers pulled over at Haverton Hill, just off the A19 near Stockton, 22 were found to be breaking the law in some way.

The DVLA is taking action against three operators for vehicle excise licence offences.

One driver, from Darlington, was found to have no insurance or driving licence - resulting in his vehicle being impounded - and eight vehicles were served with immediate prohibitions and six with delayed prohibition notices, all for being defective in some way.

PC Richie Humphrey, intelligence officer for Cleveland Police specialist operations, said the aim of the crackdown was to clean up vehicles and prosecute, where necessary, but also to offer advice and guidance.

"It's been a productive day, with about 33 per cent of those stopped found to be offending in some way," said PC Richie.

"The skip wagon having 19 loose wheel nuts was probably the worst case we saw. If one of his wheels had come off, who knows where it would have ended up or where the vehicle would have ended up.

"If we had not stopped him, we don't know what could have happened further down the road. Somebody could have been seriously injured or even killed."

Maddy Ratnett, of HM Revenue and Customs, said: "These exercises are carried out for a number of reasons. We are warning motorists using illegal diesel that the chances of being caught are now greater than ever, and that they risk penalties or seizure of their vehicle when they are caught out."

A spokeswoman for the Vehicle Operators' Service Agency said: "We are asked by police to assist them with the aim of improving road safety through vehicle checks and spotting any defects."