Police officers do double take after spotting cars with identical reg plates parked up together

Cleveland Police say the “doubling up” approach to tackling crime in Hartlepool saw regular and volunteer officers wondering if they had double vision.

Cleveland Police Special Constabulary, working with neighbourhood officers, discovered two VW Foxes – identical down to the registration number - parked side by side in a supermarket car park.

The force said the vehicles were quickly checked on police systems – with one found to be legitimate and the other cloned.

The cloned vehicle was also found to be uninsured so officers immediately arranged for it to be seized and notified DVLA of the incident.

Neighbourhoods Chief Inspector Pete Graham said: “We were delighted when our Special Constabulary colleagues joined us in a formal partnership just a couple of weeks ago and this unusual case clearly demonstrates the value of an ever closer working relationship with their officers.”

Specials Sergeant Liam Burmiston added: “The legal vehicle’s owner and we couldn’t believe our eyes – what are the chances of two matching vehicles ending up being parked next to each other.

“The teams worked together to quickly establish the facts and to get the cloned vehicle recovered.

"It was really satisfying to be able to reassure the law abiding owner that the situation had been resolved."

The incident is one of a series of recent seizures by the team, with others sparked by calls reporting antisocial behaviour and dangerous driving.

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