A POLICE operation to catch motorists breaking the law in Darlington has been hailed a success.

About 4,500 cars were checked by police and other officials during a blitz in the Albert Hill area on Monday.

In a link up between Durham Police, the Vehicle Inspectorate and Customs and Excise, two check points were set up to monitor traffic.

Two drivers were arrested for driving while disqualified and a third was arrested for giving false details to police.

Police recovered seven vehicles, six of these were uninsured and one had been illegally using red diesel.

Five fixed penalty tickets were issued to people for not wearing their seatbelts, or, in one case, driving a vehicle with tinted windows.

Eight drivers were issued with defect notices - handed out because their vehicles were either dangerous or had defective parts.

Four motorists were reported to the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency because they had failed to notify the appropriate authorities of a change in a vehicle's ownership.

The crackdown also discovered six motorists who had committed driving document offences.

Officers from the Vehicle Inspectorate issued prohibition notices to three commercial vehicles.

The operation took place in Albert Hill from 8.30am until 2.30pm on Monday.

A spokesman for Durham Police said: "We carried out, during the course of the operation, checks on 4,500 vehicles.

"We didn't stop that many, but we were checking that they complied with the rules."

The police spokesman said the operation was part of a campaign to keep criminals off the roads.

Customs and Excise took part to catch drivers who were using red diesel - which is taxed at a lower rate and meant for use only by industrial and farm vehicles.

Acting Sergeant Helen Greenwell, of Durham Police, said: "The operation was highly successful.

"This is an operation which will be repeated many times in the coming weeks and months in other parts of the force area so drivers should watch out."