THE man behind the latest drive to improve road safety in Lancashire says it was depressingly successful in finding unsafe vehicles.

Police Traffic support Inspector Dave Pye said spot checks revealed that more than 60 per cent of vehicles were illegal. Small vans and pick-ups were the main culprits.

Of the 104 checked in the county, 19 were ordered off the road immediately because they had serious tyre, brake or light defects and another 32 had other faults.

The checks were run as a joint operation by traffic officers, customs and excise, the DSS and the Vehicle Inspectorate.

The Stolen Vehicle squad discovered one vehicle which had been stolen and another with a stolen engine. Three were using red diesel.

The DSS interviewed 126 people and took 26 off benefit.

Mr Pye said: "Despite a number of similar operations, the number of unsafe vehicles is still unacceptably high, especially in the small van and pick-up category."

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