As serious and fatal road incidents in Lancashire rise by 30 per cent on last year, the police’s tactical operations team has been out day and night to try and keep our roads safe. Through Operation Sorbus, the team has been carrying out spot checks across the county to stop those who are drinking over the limit, or drug taking, from driving. Lancashire Telegraph reporter Neil Athey joined up with the officers at one of the stop-and-check points in Bocholt Way, Rawtenstall, to see how the operation is going.

IF you’ve been driving around East Lancashire over the last couple of weeks, you may have spotted one of the police checkpoints on our roads.

As part of the campaign the team are focusing on organised crime, counter-terrorism operations, supplying support to front-line officers, including searching and collisions, as well as cash-in-transit robberies and cash machine thefts.

Superintendent Julian Platt, who is leading the operation, said the team had a key job to do.

He said: “In the criminal world, offenders have looked at Lancashire as having a ‘softer touch’ compared to areas such as Greater Manchester and Merseyside, where the bigger cities are.

“They think they can come in and conduct serious crime and get away with it.

“We are trying to get rid of that.

“One of our main objectives is to make sure our borders are thoroughly checked and monitored to stop crime from other areas coming in.”

In October, thousands of pounds were taken in Clitheroe after thieves used a telehandler to rip out a cash machine.

In the same month another cash machine was blown up using gas cylinders and an angle grinder.

Supt Platt said criminals had targeted rural areas of the country because they believe there’s a lack of police.

He said: “We are getting to every corner of Lancashire to make sure this belief is stripped from them."

He said officers would also be assisting the transportation of the contents of ATM machines to eliminate the risk of the cash being hijacked.

“It's our aim to assist companies who are moving large amounts of cash, such as cash machines, to where they need to go to without any risk.”

During the morning checks, more than 40 drivers were pulled over by officers and breathalysed.

On this occasion no one was found to be over the limit or to have taken drugs, however a driver of a Citroen C2 was found to have no licence and had been using a screwdriver as a key to turn the engine on and off.

The car was taken away and the driver was forced to walk home.

As of Christmas Eve, 208 people had been arrested for drink or drug driving offences in the county.

Supt Platt said: "We had 42 serious or fatal crashes in Lancashire last year.

"In 2018 we have already had 55 and sadly we have not reached the end of the year yet.

“The consequences of drink driving are clear.

“It ruins the lives of completely innocent individuals through the lack of care and concern of a drink driver.

“We’ve caught more than 150 drink or drug-drivers so far, so that means what we are doing here is meaningful.

“We are not out to cause a nuisance.

“Yes we may delay someone by a minute or two, but we are showing the public we are out here, in the cold and the rain, to make sure they are safe and those who should not be on the road aren’t.”

The team will also patrol the borders of neighbouring constabularies to stop stolen vehicles from travelling into Greater Manchester and Merseyside.

There will be armed response officers and advanced unarmed drivers positioned to stop thieves driving out of the county in stolen cars.