CRACKING down on speeding in Bolton remains a priority for police after a month-long operation stopped hundreds of drivers.

Greater Manchester Police (GMP) launched Operation Portman on December 3 following an increase in serious traffic collisions in the town.

Extra resources were drafted in by the force to support neighbourhood officers and the boost in police numbers allowed them to target notorious speeding hotspots.

Regular updates were posted by police on social media throughout the 31 days of action, highlighting which roads they had been clocking drivers on.

And during the operation, 564 drivers were reported for allegedly committing a range of motoring crimes – most of them recorded as speeding offences.

Several arrests were made and sixteen vehicles were seized after reportedly having no insurance.

Officers also took time out to educate drivers on the dangers that come with speeding.

Operation Portman came to a close on Sunday, January 3.

But despite the absence of the extra officers that were on hand to help with the work, police in the borough are incorporating more speeding enforcement in their shifts.

Inspector David Johnston, of Bolton police, said: "The good news for us was that during the speeding operation there were no further serious life-changing accidents.

"But the community wants a longer-term solution to road safety and that is what we are doing. The work is not stopping now.

"That dedicated response that we had with extra resources during Operation Portman is not going to be there, but we are including speeding enforcement in our daily business.

"It is part of our community policing.

"And we are going to keep listening to the community."

Meanwhile, police in Bolton continue to enforce the covid-19 rules during the third national lockdown.

Insp Johnston said alleged breaches run hand in hand with general anti-social behaviour reports and there is no cause for concern over the number of coronavirus-related incidents logged at present.