ROAD tax dodgers in Burnley have been hit with fines following a two-day crackdown by police and the DVLA.

The campaign, as part of Operation Hotspot, caught 66 offenders in the Bank Hall area of the town.

A number plate reader was used and checked 5,510 vehicle registration numbers against the DVLA database.

The reader was set up in Belvedere Road, Colne Road and Briercliffe Road, catching 32 without a tax disk.

And acting on information given to the DVLA Hotline by Bank Hall residents, they spotted a further 34 cars without tax.

A DVLA spokesperson said the number of people breaking the law was falling, but he stressed the authorities would not become complacent.

He added: "There has been a marked improvement in the number of correctly taxed vehicles.

"Clearly our swoops, including those done as part of Operation Hot Spot are starting to have an effect on people.

"However, we won't be resting on our laurels, we'll be back to target more tax dodgers in the very near future."

PC Shaun Pearson, part of the Bank Hall Neighbourhood Policing Team, revealed the success of the operation was down to local residents.

He said: "What was fantastic about this crackdown is that we were acting on information given to us by members of the public through the DVLA tax hotline.

"I would like to thank everyone who reported vehicles without tax and now that people have seen us take action, encourage more people to report licence dodgers."

The number to call to report an out of date tax disk or a car with no disk on display is the DVLA Hotline on 0800 325 202.