The volunteer officers carried out stop checks on Margate Road, Broadstairs on Thursday 23 December 2021 to ensure motorists had roadworthy vehicles, which includes car insurance, a driving licence and road tax.

A total of 95 vehicles were stopped, 37 Traffic Offence Reports were issued for a variety of motoring offences and 28 fines were handed out. One motorist received a prohibition notice that prevents them driving their vehicle until serious and unsafe mechanical defects are fixed whilst six vehicles were seized for being uninsured or untaxed.

Special Sergeant James Johnston, who led the operation, said: ‘This was a highly successful operation that sadly demonstrates there are still too many motorists committing traffic offences and putting other people’s lives at risk.

‘We will continue to carry out operations such as this in the future to reduce the risk for law-abiding motorists and help make our roads safer for everyone.’

Special Constables are unpaid volunteers who have the same powers as regular police officers. They are required to give up at least 16 hours of their own time every month to help police their local communities, with many juggling full-time jobs in order to do so. They can get involved in a number of operations including assisting regular officers on the roads by attending collisions, searching for stolen vehicles and responding to reports of speeding, bad driving and other motoring offences.

Anyone interested in joining the Special Constabulary can visit www.kent.police.uk/specials or follow @KentSpecials on Twitter.