WEST Mercia Police's Local Policing Priority Teams are continuing their success.

Last month two teams were launched covering the north and south of the force.

So far the team for the north covering Shropshire and Telford has been targeting serious and organised crime across the county.

Earlier today the team stopped a vehicle collecting scrap metal in Shrewsbury - it is illegal to collect scrap metal without a licence. Not only was the vehicle found to be linked to thefts in the area, the driver did not have any insurance. The vehicle was seized and will now be destroyed, the driver was reported for driving without insurance. Trading standards will now deal with licensing matters.

Yesterday the team, in partnership with Telford CID, carried out a warrant at Nelson Court in Wellington, Telford. A quantity of suspected stolen eyewear was recovered and an imitation firearm was seized. They were stored with gloves and balaclavas. One person - a 44 year old woman - has been arrested on suspicion of handling stolen goods and released under investigation.

Detective Superintendent Mo Lansdale says the way the imitation firearm was stored is concerning.

She said: "We do have to question why someone would have an imitation firearm stored with gloves and balaclavas, there's simply no reason to and this concerns us.

"We're working really hard to tackle serious and organised crime across Shropshire and Telford and are seeing some fantastic results, however there is always more that can be done and we continue to ask members of the public to come forward with any information they may have. No matter how small or insignificant it seems, it helps us build a picture of what is happening so we can take action.

"Together with the local community and our partners we will do all we can to pursue and disrupt those involved in serious and organised crime and make our county as undesirable as possible for criminals to operate."

The work of the LPPT comes as West Mercia Police continues to tackle serious and organised crime as part of Protect.

Protect is a campaign being run by West Mercia Police alongside a range of partner agencies to tackle serious and organised crime (SOC).

The broad-ranging operation covers four key areas of activity:

• Pursue - prosecuting and disrupting those involved in SOC

• Prevent - stopping individuals from becoming involved in SOC

• Protect - increased levels of protection against SOC

• Prepare - reducing the impact of SOC where it occurs

For more information, visit westmercia.police.uk/article/51112/Protect---new-police-campaign-to-tackle-Serious-and-Organised-Crime