A TEAM of police vehicle examiners exposed 20 insurance write-offs which had been repaired and sold on to unsuspecting buyers.

Officers from Gwent Police's organised vehicle crime unit held a 'car clinic' at the force headquarters, where they inspected more than 60 vehicles - including one moped - which were known to have been previously written-off in accidents.

All the cars had been highlighted to the police by the DVLA in Swansea, who earmarked each vehicle once it had been declared a write-off and were alerted when applications were sent to register their new keepers.

The DVLA then informed Gwent Police, who contacted the owners and asked them to bring their cars to Croesyceiliog.

There, in designated bays in the traffic department yard, they carried out checks on the authenticity and history of the cars, verifying details such as the vehicle identification numbers.

The owners of the 20 suspect cars were told of the situation and referred to Trading Standards officers who were on hand to offer advice, along with the major motoring organisations.

Detective Constable Mike Cornford of the organised vehicle crime unit said: "We didn't discover any stolen vehicles, but it was a good result. Probably about 20 of the people who brought their cars in didn't know they were written off. Some had bought them privately and others from traders and those owners were put in touch with trading standards."

It was the second such 'car clinic' this year. DC Cornford added: "The more we do these things, the more the message will get across to traders that we will examine any vehicles that have been written off and will find out their true history."

*PICTURED: Sergeant Lindsey Williams looks over a van with the owner, Justin Powis, of Brynmawr, at the Gwent Police car clinic