A £50,000 cash injection will see Essex Police carry out a three-week clampdown on uninsured drivers in “hotspots” across the county.

The Motor Insurers’ Bureau, which compensates the victims of crashes involving uninsured drivers, has donated the huge sum to fund a “proactive policing” operation.

The boost from the bureau will help officers during Operation Scalis – a specialised 20 day project targeting offenders across the region.

Police will be joined by MIB law enforcement liaison officers and will be helped by technology aimed at quickly identifying uninsured vehicles.

It comes after police revealed they seized 3,580 uninsured vehicles off the roads of Essex last year with another 1,732 being taken from January to May this year.

Head of Roads Policing, Adam Pipe said: “We do understand some families and businesses continue to be affected by the on-going cost of living crisis and people may have to choose where they spend their income.

“But it’s imperative that every driver insures their vehicle to make sure that, in the event of a collision, they have the support and coverage they need to get back on the road.

“It’s against the law to drive an uninsured vehicle which is why we proactively patrol all our roads and carry out this enforcement work.”

Councillor for community safety at Southend Council, Martin Terry, said the funding is a “welcome investment”.

He said: “I was happy to hear that the PCC is putting more money into roads policing. The PCC went to great lengths to emphasise that the biggest cause of death by criminal activity in Essex is because of incidents on the road.

“Anything we can do to improve the situation on our roads is a good thing. There are things like racing and other events that cause anti-social behaviour on the streets of Southend.

“This is a welcome investment. We need the funding and this sponsorship from the bureau will help us make our roads safer.”

A spokesperson for the bureau said: “Taking dangerous uninsured vehicles off the road doesn’t just make them safer, it can help identify individuals of interest, stolen vehicles and wider crime networks.

“MIB’s support enables the dedicated resourcing of Essex Police officers during Operation Scalis, in order to provide a focus on tackling uninsured driving.”