HUNDREDS of motorists were pulled over at special police checkpoints in Bolton.

Officers stopped cars, minicabs, lorries, vans and motorbikes in Derby Street, Daubhill, on Monday and outside Bolton Rail Station in Trinity Street in Bolton town centre the following day.

The vehicles were targeted as part of Greater Manchester Police's Operation Considerate which aims to identify drivers breaking the law. Some false number plates were discovered, several tinted windows were found to be illegally dark and a handful of people in work vans were flagged down for having insurance policies that did not cover business use.

The Bolton News:

Several taxi drivers had their licences suspended at the roadside and cyclists were warned for pedalling on the pavement.

Drivers were fined for not wearing a seatbelt, for having bald tyres, for having a severe windscreen crack and for using a mobile telephone.

Traffic PSCO Gareth Walker said the operation had proved to be a huge success.

He said: "We focused on all types of vehicles that use the highway. Officers further up the road are identifying offences and we pull them over shortly afterwards in a safe place. We deal with them through a fixed penalty notice known as a TOR – it's a £100 fine and three points on a licence – or, if appropriate, a place on one of the road safety courses we offer. We seized over 10 cars having no insurance yesterday."

Drivers in a whole range of vehicles were spoken to by officers from Greater Manchester Police's Roads Policing Unit as well as licensing enforcement officers from Bolton Council and Rossendale Council, who were on hand to check if private hire drivers were adhering to their minicab permits.

Inspector Paul Rowe, of GMP's Serious Collision Investigation Unit, said: "People's eyes give it away - they're looking at their mobile phone in their lap. Or all the traffic moves off and they're sat there 100m behind, still sending a text message."