Cross-border criminals are targeted in operation.

A HUGE police operation fired a warning shot across the bows of travelling rural criminals.

On Friday officers monitored more than 3,000 vehicles using the main road through Weardale, County Durham, as part of a major operation designed to deter and detect crime.

Police said the results of Operation Silver Fox - which ran from 9am until 5pm on Friday was "encouraging".

Officers checking vehicles using the A689 failed to catch anyone breaking the speed limit. Advice was offered to some motorists over minor issues and some fixed penalty fines were handed out to motorists caught using mobile phones and not wearing seatbelts.

One uninsured car was also seized. The operation, led by Weardale neighbourhood policing team and assisted by the Durham Police road policing unit, the dog section and Customs and Excise officers, was in response to concerns raised by Weardale residents and feedback from parish council meetings. Customs and Excise officials also carried out fuel checks on more than 180 vehicles.

No offences were detected. Sergeant Dave Lyall said that no crime was reported during the operation in the dale.

He added that it should serve as a warning to any criminals thinking of travelling into Weardale as police planned to stage more such operations in future to deter and detect any kind of criminal activity."

Local farmers in particular have been plagued by a spate of thefts of machinery, including quad bikes recently.