MORE than 250 people have been given crime reduction advice and magnifying glasses as part of a huge police operation to beat bogus callers.

Called Operations Relentless', the police initiative has seen officers stop hundreds of vehicles in Avon and Somerset in an attempt to gather intelligence to identify rogue traders.

Crime reduction advice has been given to residents to give them the confidence to turn away traders who often prey on the vulnerable.

The aim of the operation was to clamp down on incidents where residents have been conned into having work done on their homes or gardens at a vastly inflated price and at a poor standard.

Along with crime reduction advice, magnifying glasses have been given to people so identification cards of callers can be examined more carefully.

In Taunton an Automatic Number Plate Recognition operation saw a large number of vehicle stop-checks.

Two arrests were made and one vehicle was seized.