The driving of vehicles which do not have the proper tax, insurance or MOT is of particular concern in Bradford, and is a problem which many individuals and agencies have taken steps to tackle.

Avoiding getting the proper paperwork for cars is not a case of people thumbing their nose at the authorities. It can mean unroadworthy vehicles are on the streets, with the potential to cause devastating accidents, it can mean trouble for those involved in even the slightest shunt with an uninsured driver, and it deprives the economy of income.

Increasingly, though, it can also mean that the cars and their drivers are involved in even murkier activities. It is not too much of a leap of logic to assume that anyone who would happily drive an illegal vehicle might be doing so for yet more nefarious reasons.

That is certainly what the police’s Operation Sabredale has discovered, after a crackdown on drink and drugs had the by-product of netting more than 130 unregistered, untaxed and uninsured vehicles.

Criminals very often “pool” cars among each other so they can carry out illegal activities in unregistered vehicles and lessen the risk of being traced by the police.

The fact that such a high number of those cars have been taken off the streets can only be good news for Bradford. And any cars that are not claimed – though if the vehicles have been used for criminal activities, it is difficult to see that anyone would put their hands up to owning them – will be crushed.

And there will be few law-abiding motorists in Bradford who will shed a tear at that.