A new device aimed at identifying drivers at the side of the road is already proving its worth.

Traffic officers in the county took to the roads of north Essex to begin a 12-month trial of a new hand-held fingerprint system this week.

Essex road officers, who have been given ten of the Lantern devices as part of the £2.6m pilot scheme, took to the A12 near Colchester to put the equipment through its paces.

By the end of the trial, they hope to persuade the Government into letting them keep the system, allowing them to check the ID of motorists against a database of 6.4 million criminals.

Sgt Justin Smith, of the force's automated number plate recognition (ANPR) intercept team, said: "I have already stopped one person whose details I wanted to check out.

"He had a criminal record dating back to 1991 and that the details he gave me were correct. He wasn't wanted but I gave him advice about his vehicle and he went on his way."