Almost 200 arrests have been made and 1,600 vehicles stopped as Staffordshire Police's Operation Lightning comes to an end.

The three-week road policing operation also saw officers seize 249 vehicles for various offences.

Operation Lightning was set up to tackle criminals using the road network and to prevent increases in the number of people killed and seriously injured on local roads.

The operation, which ran at a number of locations across the county and ended on Sunday, involved high-visibility patrols, unmarked patrols, covert patrols and drones, motorcycles equipped with speed detection and video recording equipment and mobile safety camera vans. A fixed-wing aeroplane also took to the skies.

The operation began on 1 September and included a focus on the 'fatal four' motoring offences that are major causes of death and serious injury on the roads - speeding, mobile phone use, drink and drug use and not wearing a seatbelt.

In total, officers stopped 1,583 cars and made 191 arrests.

684 drivers were reported for multiple vehicle offences, 753 for speed offences and a further 975 will receive advisory letters from Community Speed Watch.

There have been 249 vehicle seizures for varying offences which were disclosed such as drivers using vehicles that were in a dangerous condition or without insurance or an MOT.

Additionally, there have been 65 positive breath tests and 37 positive drug swipes.

It comes after the decision by the Staffordshire Commissioner earlier this year to increase council tax funding for policing, which enabled the force to make further investments.

The operation was run alongside partners including the Central Motorway Police Group (CMPG), Staffordshire Safer Roads Partnership and the Community Speed Watch Scheme.

Chief Superintendent Elliott Sharrard-Williams, Head of the Operational Support Directorate, said: "Operation Lightning gathered momentum and has achieved great results with support from volunteers right through to specialist police teams such as dogs and firearms.

"We used a variety of tactics to assist us in cracking down on offenders using the road network and have seized hundreds of cars and made many arrests – including drink driving, possession of controlled drugs and numerous other offences - to ensure our roads networks are safer."

He added that driving under the influence of drugs was a continuing problem the Force would be targeting.

"We're already making further plans – as this intensification has helped us to tackle criminality on our roads and to prevent serious road traffic accidents and protecting local communities from harm."