A HI-TECH police number plate reader helped them make 27 arrests last month.

The results bring the total number of criminal offenders detained because of the new automatic number plate recognition (ANPR) system to 129 since June.

Police say the high rate demonstrates the power of ANPR as a technological tool in the fight against serious crime.

The equipment is capable of scanning up to 3,000 number plates an hour and matches them against information stored on national databases to identify vehicles of interest to the police, such as stolen cars or vehicles used in crime.

Once a suspicious vehicle is spotted, it becomes the focus of police targeted interceptions and inquiries.

Latest figures show ANPR was deployed across Hampshire and the Isle of Wight 35 times throughout October, resulting in 27 people being arrested.

The arrests included six for driving while disqualified, three for theft or burglary, two for being wanted by police, one for driving with excess alcohol, one for car crime, one for drugs offences, seven for failing to give accurate details and six for other offences.

On October 25, police stopped a car in Southsea which led to the recovery of a stolen vehicle worth £5,000 as a direct result of the ANPR system.

PC Russ Calvert, an officer on the ANPR team said: "These latest figures continue to demonstrate the effectiveness of this technology in combating travelling criminals within our two counties.

"Hampshire Constabulary is committed to making this county a safer place to live and work, grow up and grow old in.

"We will continue to use any means at our disposal in order to achieve this."

A total of 23 police forces across the country are taking part in the national pilot scheme, which is codenamed Operation Laser.