FIVE MEN were arrested and seven uninsured vehicles seized during a police traffic operation held in Chelmsford.

Operation Talon saw officers flood certain areas of the city with the aim of reacting to information gained from automatic number plate recognition (ANPR) cameras in the hope of stopping criminals using the road networks to carry out crime and dealing with matters such as uninsured vehicles.

Officers were stationed at Three Mile Hill with an ANPR van and also used information from static cameras in the city last Thursday.

Sgt Steve Taylor said: “Criminals use the road networks and this is a proactive operation to target burglars and their associates using the roads by using information from the ANPR cameras.”

During the operation, which ran from 8am until midnight, officers stopped 72 vehicles and issued ten fixed penalty notices, with five motorists being reported for traffic matters.

Twenty-three searches were also carried out and five arrests were made, including one man who was wanted for a domestic abuse incident.

Another was arrested after a large knife was found in his car and one man, just released from prison in Chelmsford, was wanted for making threats to kill.