MANY lorries are unfit to be travelling on the roads.

That was the verdict from police following a series of checks aimed at clamping down on HGVs travelling on the motorway.

Operation Mermaid was carried out at the M56 last Tuesday with 21 vehicles checked out.

l 60 per cent had defects l eight were deemed unsuitable for the roads and drivers banned on the spot from driving them l One vehicle was seized for being driven without the correct licence Chief Inspector Peter Madeley said: "Sixty one per cent is a high proportion of vehicles that shouldn't be using the roads.

"The defects on the vehicles can contribute towards the number of collisions we see each year on Cheshire's road network.

"Any action which takes such vehicles off the roads should be applauded and Operation Mermaid has achieved that with a high degree of success."

The police road tests come a month after 964 vehicles were stopped across 30 forces, with 413 motorists committing offences, which ranged from mechanical defects to drivers exceeding the number of hours they can legally drive for.

Of those vehicles checked, 37 were immediately banned from the road, 49 were found to have faulty brakes and 28 had faulty lights. Twenty one drivers were arrested for offences ranging from disqualified driving to driving while under the influence of drink or drugs.

Anyone with information should contact Warrington Police on 0845 458 0000.