POLICE launched a major operation in Poole on Wednesday night as part of a crackdown on driving offences as well as targeting some of Dorset’s most wanted offenders.

Operation Allied Wolf, run by by Devon and Cornwall and Dorset Police, saw around 50 officers take to the roads across Poole and parts of Bournemouth in search of drivers under the influence of alcohol or drugs, who were using mobile phones, driving at excess speed or who were uninsured.

Officers were also on the lookout for some of the county’s most wanted offenders and as a result of the intelligence led operation one high profile arrest was made.

Large scale searches for drugs and weapons were also carried out in well--known hotspots across the town - which included a search for a handgun.

It is only the fourth time officers from Dorset have teamed up with Devon and Cornwall on a joint operation as part of the Strategic Alliance.

Around 20 marked and unmarked vehicles were used, as well as police vans with Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) and Safety Camera Partnership vans.

The police were also joined by colleagues from the DVLA and HM Revenue and Customs who were on the lookout for motorists using red diesel illegally.

Only vehicles such as agricultural tractors, plant and machinery are entitled to use red diesel because of its reduced tax rate and a motorist found using it without a licence can be fined thousands of pounds.

However the primary aim of the operation was to tackle the key causes of serious road traffic collisions - driving without a seatbelt, excess speeding, drink and drug driving, careless and inconsiderate driving and driving while distracted.

In 2015 30 people were killed in 29 collisions on Dorset’s roads.

Chief Inspector Adrian Leisk, head of roads policing for the Alliance Operations Department, said these operations would help reduce the number of fatal collisions on Dorset’s roads.

“Most of our road policing team are family liaison officers and have at one point in their career had to deliver that heartbreaking news to a family that someone they love has died in a car crash,” he added.

“It’s all about getting safe and insured cars on the road and we want people to understand what’s being done to keep roads safe.”

As a result of the operation in Poole 13 cars were seized - including one taxi which had no insurance and a black Peugeot which hadn’t been taxed for two years.

A number of cars were also clamped including a Nissan Pathfinder.

The owner explained he had accidentally taxed his old vehicle instead of the new one. It was an expensive mistake which cost him £100 to have the clamp removed and £200 for new tax.

More than 60 cars were stopped during the operation and 26 tickets were issued.