Police have carried out a series of checks on roads resulting in dozens of drivers being reported for having no road tax.

Officers from the West Kent Special Constabulary carried out an operation in Tunbridge Wells to promote road safety.

The Driver and Vehicle Licencing Agency (DVLA) and local council taxi licensing and environmental teams assisted in checks on roads near the town centre on Saturday, April 7.

In total, 55 drivers were reported for having no road tax. Two drivers also received traffic offence reports in relation to speeding, one for no insurance and one for not having a valid test certificate.

Officers also examined 27 vehicles with one driver receiving a traffic offence report for not having a rear-view mirror and several drivers being warned about minor vehicle defects.

During the checks, 13 taxis were examined and their documentation checked. In addition, one vehicle was seized in connection with an environmental offence.

Chief Inspector Peter Steenhuis said: “These operations target drivers who are committing offences and vehicles that are dangerous to be on the road. Local residents were pleased to see us and were very supportive of our efforts to keep their communities safe.

“While the majority of motorists drive safely, we can see that some still aren’t getting the message and our aim is to educate them about the danger they pose to other road users. We will continue to run these operations regularly throughout west Kent.”

Kent now has more than 300 Special Constables who are unpaid volunteers, many of whom have full-time jobs and give up at least 16 hours of their own time every month supporting regular police officers.

Anyone interested in becoming a Special Constable, to support Kent Police with a variety of work and learn new skills, can visit www.kent.police.uk/specials or follow @KentSpecials on Twitter.