Police officers carried out an operation to catch illegal driving instructors on Wednesday, June 13.

During the three-hour operation in Sutton, they stopped more than 50 driving school cars and other vehicles displaying ā€˜Lā€™ plates.

The police operation included two fraud investigators from the Driving Standards Agency (DSA).

The morning operation resulted in a 37-year-old driver using a driving school liveried vehicle being arrested on suspicion of operating as an instructor despite having failed the third exam three times. A requirement of would-be instructors is to repeat the entire three-stage exam process again.

The driver received a caution under the Road Traffic Act for receiving payment for not being an approved driving instructor. He is also being processed for having no insurance and his vehicle was seized.

On top of this, five drivers using driving school liveried vehicles were sent warning letters from the Driving Standards Agency for failing to display their badges.