More than 100 vehicles were stopped and 12 of them seized in a crackdown on uninsured drivers.

The 12 drivers caught without insurance were fined £200, got six points each on their licences and will face further costs to recover their cars once they can prove they have insurance after being caught out in the operation in Sutton on Tuesday.

One driver, a man in his 50s, admitted to police he didn’t have insurance because he was driving his friend’s car. The driver phoned his friend to arrange cover and 20 minutes later he told officers he was insured. However, officers explained to the driver that they were still seizing the vehicle because he was uninsured at the time he was stopped. He was also fined and had six penalty points on his licence.

The officers involved in the operation, part of a London-wide drive, set up check points on the main routes into town.

Police also made two arrests. A man aged 40 was arrested for theft and fraud after officers stopped a Mercedes-Benz pick up truck carrying a car to be scrapped. The driver, who was a foreign national, was driving on insurance issued abroad which was not valid in this country.

The driver was fined for having no insurance and his vehicle was seized. He was also found in possession of bank cards that did not belong to him.

Another driver was arrested for non-payment of fines.