POLICE today warned criminals who move around in a bid to avoid detection: "There is no place to hide."

Almost 200 motorists were stopped during four days of roadside checks across the Eastern Division covering Blackburn, Darwen and Hyndburn.

Ten people were arrested for offences including possession of drugs, drink driving, driving while disqualified, vehicle theft and outstanding warrants.

Officers also ordered 16 unsafe-vehicles off the road and gave 40 people penalty tickets for not wearing seat belts.

The crackdown was aimed at recovering drugs and disrupting criminal activity.

Police targeted roads which they believed so-called 'travelling criminals' were using. These included Henry Street and Market Street in Church, Grimshaw Park, Audley Range and Eanam in Blackburn and Blackburn Road in Darwen.

Officers from the Eastern Division's road policing unit, support unit and dog unit were used along with up-to-date intelligence to identify vehicles and occupants.

They will be staging more roadside checks across the Eastern Division again in the next few weeks to step up the crackdown as part of the Safer Streets campaign.

Lancashire Constabulary is participating in the national scheme targeting the root causes of street crime, such as robbery, possession of firearms and class A drug trafficking.

Det Chief Inspector Neil Smith, who is coordinating the operation, said: "Eastern Division is a vast area and criminals who reside within it often travel to other areas to commit crime in a bid to evade the police.

"The purpose of these targeted stop checks was primarily to disrupt offenders, but they have also helped us build a clear picture of who is travelling into the division to commit crime.

"We want to reassure people that we will take all available steps to tackle the drugs trade in Eastern Division. If that means setting up road blocks and stopping cars, then we will continue to put resources into doing just that."