UNINSURED motorists are being targeted and their vehicles seized in a special police operation in North Yorkshire.

Starting in January, officers say they will “get as many illegal drivers off the road as possible” during the days of action.

And locations and tactics are not being publicised so illegal drivers will be unable to evade officers.

On conviction, motorists face getting six points on their licence and large fines, with further fees to get seized vehicles back once they are insured.

Uninsured drivers are already routinely detected and caught across the county using a range of methods and technology.

However, North Yorkshire Police’s Roads Policing Group will be co-ordinating its resources to target as many uninsured motorists as possible on certain days and at a range of locations across the county. The activity is codenamed Operation Belt.

The estimated one million uninsured drivers in the UK pose a major risk to law-abiding road users, and there has been a rise in serious and fatal collisions involving uninsured motorists nationally.

Many drive without a licence, or in unroadworthy vehicles, and are frequently linked to other forms of criminality.

Traffic Sergeant Mark Patterson said: “Tackling uninsured drivers makes North Yorkshire safer and our aim is to take as many off the road as possible.”