Isle of Wight police identify 100 driving offences in two days

Operation Wightwash was set up by officers to keep roads safe on the Isle of Wight

Police identified more than 100 driving offences in the space of two days on the Isle of Wight.

Operation Wightwash was set up as part of proactive efforts to keep island roads safe.

Hampshire and Isle of Wight Constabulary confirmed it had dealt with 117 offences on 20 March and 21 March.

One of the incidents involved arresting a driver suspected of being under the influence of cannabis.

The two-day crackdown was held in partnership with Hampshire's Roads Policing Unit (RPU).

A force spokesperson explained the operation "has been stood up in recent years to bolster our efforts in intercepting drivers committing offences on the road network".

It is run at regular intervals throughout the year and during this round, officers also seized a vehicle because the driver had no licence.

The force said the driver was initially stopped after he was spotted driving while on his mobile phone and police later discovered the vehicle also had no MOT.

A police spokesperson said insecure loads were an issue they came across during the two-day operation

Other offences the police dealt with over the two days included driving without seatbelts, insecure loads, speeding, front windows being excessively tinted, tyre tread issues and driving through red lights.

The force spokesperson added: "Road safety issues are regularly brought to our attention on the Isle of Wight, and are clearly of concern to residents.

"We want you to be reassured that we listen to these concerns, and regularly conduct enforcement action to target the minority of drivers whose standards fall far below what is legally expected of them."

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