A SUSPECTED church burglar was stopped today in major police road safety operation, it has emerged.

Operation Surround A Town in Chelmsford today involved more than 40 police officers carrying out roadside checks and mobile patrols around the town.

The operation was also part of Essex County Council’s three-year No Excuse campaign to tackle motoring offences and raise awareness that there is no excuse for offences such as speeding, driving while using a mobile phone, not wearing seat belts or driving without insurance or valid driving documents.

One driver, who was stopped for not wearing a seat belt was later arrested when officers established that he was wanted on suspicion of burglary at a church at Willingale, near Ongar. The 45-year-old man from Chelmsford, was still in custody this afternoon and was being interviewed by detectives.

Offenders were identified by officers patrolling in cars or on motorcycles or through Automatic Number Plate (ANPR) technology and vehicles were escorted to check sites at Galleywood Common, Boreham services off the A12, Victoria Road and Waterhouse Lane.

More than 180 offences were detected, including 54 drivers who were for using a mobile phone, 64 drivers who were not wearing seat belts and 35 vehicles that had an expired MOT.

Two vehicles were seized because the drivers were not insured and a third car was seized because the driver had no licence. Two vehicles were clamped by DVLA officers and the drivers fined for road tax offences.

Officers from the Essex Police Commercial Vehicle Unit dealt with 54 of the stopped vehicles at Boreham. They detected 116 driver hours offences - leading to six prosecutions, dealt with six overweight vehicles, one overlength vehicle and one prosecution for failing to have an operator’s licence.

Road safety officers from Essex County Council were also involved in the operation and spoke with offending drivers stopped at Galleywood and Boreham. Other road safety officers hosted educational classes at Essex County Cricket Ground for drivers stopped for not wearing seat belts.

County Councillor Derrick Louis, cabinet member for highways and transportation, said: “So far, we’ve had 30 people opt to attend our education course and, after successful completion, have had their fixed penalty notice for not wearing a seatbelt nullified.

“I’m glad that the response to the course has been very positive as they are a vital element of the SAT day as they give us the opportunity to talk to drivers about the most common causes of accidents and make them aware of their driving behaviour. Today, we’ve also been working with primary schools and over 200 children have taken part in educational activity about the importance of wearing seatbelts.”