Police say they are concerned at the number of safety breaches

Police and officers from Customs and Excise and the Vehicle and Operator Services Agency stopped 322 HGVs on roads in the South West last week.

Two drivers were arrested, one for disqualified driving and another was wanted for other offences.

Police said they used intelligence to target operators they suspected of committing offences.

Mechanical defects found in 24 vehicles meant they were ordered off the road immediately.

'Cause for concern'

A further 23 were given a prohibition for less serious maintenance defects and given time to put them right.

Twenty one of the lorries checked were found to be overweight to such an extent that they were stopped from driving further.

Nineteen of the drivers who had their tachograph charts examined were found to have driven for longer than the law allows and were prevented from continuing.

Police forces from Avon and Somerset, Devon and Cornwall, Dorset, Gloucestershire, South Wales and Wiltshire were all involved in the operation, code-named Mermaid.