Suffolk Police’s latest Operation Guardian day of action on the roads in the west of the county has been hailed a success.

On Friday 18th April officers stopped over 200 vehicles during the seven-hour operation (9am-4pm), run jointly with Suffolk Trading Standards and HM Revenue and Customs. Over 100 traffic offences were dealt with, with fixed penalty notices being issued.

The results for each district are as follows:

St Edmundsbury -

Bury St Edmunds
Five drivers were issued with fixed penalty notices for seatbelt and mobile phone offences. Warnings were also given to drivers for littering from their vehicle, inconsiderate driving and for the use of a mobile phone using a hands-free kit.

Haverhill
30 drivers were stopped in the town centre, regarding prohibited vehicles in the restricted zone there. Three tickets were issued for this. 14 drivers were warned for speeding – one was reported, and five fixed penalty notices were issued for speeding. Two fixed penalty notices were issued for seatbelt offences.

Forest Heath (Mildenhall and Newmarket)
80 vehicles were stopped, with 16 fixed penalty notices issued for speeding, five for seatbelt offences, one for use of a mobile phone and one for a number plate offence. 25 people were cautioned for speeding. Two drivers were reported for having no insurance.

Babergh
70 vehicles were stopped, with 16 fixed penalty notices issued for speeding, one for a seatbelt offence and ten for insurance and licence offences. Ten people were cautioned for speeding and one driver reported. Eleven vehicles were seized for having no insurance and one driver was reported.

One person was arrested and charged with drink driving. Paul Frost, aged 37 and of Nayland Road in Bures has also been charged with driving without insurance and is due to appear before Bury Magistrates on 1st May.

Mid Suffolk
Around 30 vehicles were stopped, with five fixed penalty notices issued for seatbelt offences. One vehicle was seized for having no insurance and the driver received a £200 fixed penalty notice.

In addition, HM Revenue and Customs dipped 15 fuel tanks and identified one offence for which a fixed penalty notice was issued. Trading Standards warned four drivers, including two for carriage of waste offences.

Chief Inspector Neal Atwell was in charge of the operation and said: "The aim of this operation was to raise the awareness of offences that can and often do lead to serious injuries or deaths. We wanted to get the message out that if you continue to speed, use your mobile phone while driving, fail to wear your seat belt or drink and drive, you will get caught. This is proven by the results of this operation.

“Police officers based in west Suffolk will continue to work closely with our colleagues in Roads Policing and other agencies to ensure that this message is understood by the minority of drivers who act irresponsibly and put themselves or others at risk. Further Operation Guardian days of action will be held over the coming months."

Police across Suffolk will continue to clampdown on illegal activity on the roads as part of a Europe-wide speed enforcement campaign running until Sunday 27th April.