WEST Devon police are this week clamping down on the use of illegal vehicle number plates, during a campaign named Operation Larch. The week-long national campaign, which started on Monday, will see police checking suspected tampered number plates. Police said illegal registration plates are often used by criminals to try and obstruct police in their duties. MPS Nick Bloomfield said: 'We will be carrying out highly-visible police patrols, using both enforcement and educational tactics, to ensure that motorists' number plates comply with the law. 'Number plates are often illegally altered by criminals who are trying to avoid detection by police. 'Denying criminals the use of roads is a key area of the force's work and we aim to make it as difficult as possible for them to carry out their illegal activities.' Illegal alterations to number plates include changing their layout or using non-standard fonts, obscuring them, or using stolen and false ones to clone vehicles. Police added that those who are caught with illegal number plates could face a fine of up to £1,000 and their vehicle could also fail its MOT test.
