MORE than £135,000 of property and drugs was seized from criminals by police piloting a state-of-the-art scanning device in Hamp-shire, the Daily Echo can reveal.

And 387 motorists were arrested for offences including burglary, theft and car crime thanks to the hi-tech automatic number plate recognition (ANPR) system.

Hampshire Police took part in the year-long trial and its results were immediately hailed as an "overwhelming success" by Home Secretary David Blunkett.

ANPR instantly scans vehicle number plates and matches them against information stored on police databases to identify stolen vehicles or those involved in crime.

Suspicious vehicles are stopped by police officers and their drivers questioned.

Newly-published Home Office figures revealed 6,439 cars, lorries, motorcycles and vans were halted on Hamp-shire's roads using ANPR devices. PCs issued 1,915 fixed penalty notices for offences including driving without insurance or car tax.

Police searched 102 vehicles and 158 people. They seized 25 vehicles with a total value of £133,495, discovered 14 caches of drugs with a value of £480, and recovered other property worth £2,544 - making a total of £136,519.

Nationally, more than 13,000 people were collared by ANPR teams, and £8 million of drugs and property were seized during a 12-month pilot.

Announcing £15 million funding to roll out APNR nationally, Mr Blunkett said: "This is a powerful tool, unique in its ability to impact on crime at every level.

"It brings enormous benefits to the police and to society."

The £15 million cash boost will also create a control centre so forces can exchange ANPR-read data from across the UK to help tackle terrorism and organised crime.

Chief Constable Richard Brunstrom, the Association of Chief Police Officers member responsible for road policing, said: "I am absolutely delighted that the government has decided to invest such a significant sum of money in the development of ANPR. The police can be relied upon to use it to deny criminals the use of the roads."