A POLICE officer working as part of crackdown on dangerous drivers in Bradford district seized seven cars in five hours.

PC Michael Wroe snared the vehicles in the Girlington area of the city during a shift last week.

Sergeant Cameron Buchan, who is leading the Operation Steerside crackdown, said the cars were seized because the drivers had no insurance.

“It is a sad fact that there are a number of uninsured drivers on the road,” said Sgt Buchan. “It is our job to locate them and deal with them appropriately, and our powers allow us to take vehicles off the owner to help prevent further offending.”

The cars seized by PC Wroe were among 13 taken off the road by Operation Steerside officers last week. The drivers either received a ticket or will be summonsed to court, said Sgt Buchan.

Also, last week as part of Steerside, 52 drivers were caught speeding, 13 were caught using a mobile phone at the wheel, 51 drivers were stopped for not wearing a seatbelt, and 15 had no insurance.

There were also seven drivers dealt with for other road-related offences.

Sgt Buchan said: “All the officers working on Steerside are doing a great job. They are going out, protecting members of the public, covering numerous offences, and we are all committed to making the roads of Bradford safer.”

The total number of drivers caught during phases one and two of Steerside is 3,157. That is broken down to: speed 1,101; mobile phone use 298; not wearing a seatbelt 1,115; no insurance 234; and other road-related offences 409. A total of 249 vehicles have been seized.

Operation Steerside was inspired by the Telegraph & Argus Stop The Danger Drivers campaign and readers have been sending in footage of dangerous drivers captured on the district’s roads.

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One driver’s dash-camera caught a biker coming up the inside of traffic on Hudson Avenue, Great Horton, before weaving in between cars, at about 5.15pm on June 14.

The same rider was caught on camera two minutes later on Beckside Road, this time with a passenger who was also not wearing a helmet.

Another reader sent in footage of a biker without a helmet riding alongside a car and seemingly talking to the driver.

The reader said: “The silly motorcyclist is driving without a helmet and chatting to the car driver.

“He is not bothered about pedestrians or anything else and I hope both idiots are arrested and named and shamed in the Telegraph & Argus.”