FUEL leaks, defective brakes, nails in tyres and steering faults were discovered in a safety blitz on buses yesterday.

The crackdown by police and vehicle inspectors on school and service buses in Hyndburn and Blackburn led to six out of the 31 vehicles tested being ordered off the road immediately.

And 18 buses had defects but were allowed to carry on until they could be fixed.

Two other buses were found to be without valid tax discs and only eight out of the 31 were fault-free.

But despite the results of yesterday's crackdown, police said they were "delighted" with the improvement shown by operators in the last six months. Accrington police Sergeant Nigel Walker said: "Twenty per cent of vehicles were issued with prohibition notices and 60 per cent had defects compared with December last year when 58 per cent were prohibited and 84 per cent had defects.

"This shows a significant improvement in the standard of public passenger carrying vehicles within Hyndburn and Blackburn.

"The police are delighted with the improvement but there is no room for complacency.

"It is too early to say whether prosecutions will arise out of this action."

The checks were carried out at by the police, Lancashire County Council and the Vehicle Inspectorate.

Vehicles needing further examination were taken to the Department of Transport Testing Site at the Intack bus depot.

Sgt Walker added that the operation had been timed to cause minimum disruption to travellers.

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