ROAD users in Hampshire are facing a double whammy as the police and vehicle licensing chiefs mount a twin-pronged crackdown.

The DVLA is launching the Stingray camera which can detect unlicensed vehicles even if they are travelling at 100 miles per hour in Hampshire.

The camera is part of the DVLA's national "No Exceptions. No Excuses. No Escape" campaign, which is being supported by Hampshire Constabulary.

Details of the tax disc blitz follows hot on the heels of the news that Hampshire Police are to deploy new fixed yellow cameras to target speeding road users.

Basingstoke has around 4,000 unlicensed vehicles which the council, the police and the DVLA wants to clamp down on.

The DVLA has the power to crush unlicensed cars within 14 days of keeping them in storage as well as clamping them, and owners are warned to have them licensed before the tax disc blitz comes in to force on May 13.

Acting Inspector Andy Waller, of Hampshire Police, said: "The police are mainly concerned with safety issues and this includes vehicles which do not have their MOTs.

"The Stingray cameras will be strategically placed in areas of concern. They will be able to read registrations from the rear and are capable of operating day or night."

The cameras, which have to be manned by two DVLA officers, do not run out of film, unlike ordinary cameras. The DVLA hopes that they will help reduce the 56,000 unlicensed vehicles in Hampshire.

DVLA spokeswoman Julie Powell said: "We will be sending teams out to all parts of the country, including Basingstoke. The first blitz will last for about a month but then the teams will return."

The yellow-painted, fixed-speed cameras are set to be activated in June. Hampshire Police will be employing 25 to 30 cameras on routes which are deemed to be high risk - although details of where these will be have not yet been released.

The police are keen to get the public to view the cameras as safety rather than speed cameras - a message endorsed by Hampshire Chief Constable Paul Kernaghan.

He said: "We are not out to catch speeders but rather to deter speeding and thus road safety work should allow us to devote more resources to other areas of activity valued by the community."