MOTORISTS are often heard to complain about police roadside vehicle checks demanding to know why they are not out catching 'real criminals'.

In fact the police are often working on behalf of another agency which does not have the power to stop vehicles in the street.

During a check last week on the A342 near Faberstown, for example, the police were stopping traffic for the Vehicle Inspectorate to check vehicle safety and emissions.

It's because at the moment the inspectorate does not have the legal right to stop motorists, although that will soon be changing.

Pc Paul Beeson, of Whitchurch Traffic, said that by mid-morning on Thursday they had stopped about 100 vehicles and most people appreciated what they were doing.

He said: "The reasoning behind these operations is that the only check most vehicles over three years old get is the MoT. Tyres and lights only get checked when the car goes in for a service."

Roadside checks are a high profile way of reminding motorists that they need to check their vehicles more often. The Vehicle Inspectorate can issue immediate prohibition or delayed prohibition orders and for more minor problems the police can issue vehicle defect forms.

For more serious offences, however, the police can issue a fixed penalty - as they did to one motorist who had metal cords showing through his tyres. As for those people who think it's all a waste of time, Pc Beeson said: "A dangerous car is more lethal than a gun in the wrong circumstances.

"The consequences of a car with defective brakes or tyres leaving the road in a pedestrianised area do not bear thinking about."

The aim, he added, was not to catch people out but to ensure vehicles were safe and legal.