A STRONG smell lead police to 40 cannabis plants in a car that was stopped for having no MOT during a road policing operation in Clacton.

Road policing officers teamed up with the Safer Essex Roads Partnership and used automatic number plate recognition (ANPR) cameras to identify suspect vehicles and take them to a stop-check site at Olivers Road on Tuesday.

A 37-year-old man from Dagenham was arrested on suspicion of a number of offences after suspected cannabis plants were found in a car.

A spokesman said: "Officers stopped a Vauxhall Zafira on Oxford Road at around 9.30am for failing to have a valid MOT.

"A strong smell of cannabis led to a search of the car and what is believed to be 40 small cannabis plants were found.

"The man was arrested on suspicion of producing a Class B drug, possessing a Class B drug, possession of an offensive weapon and drug driving."

He has been released on bail pending further investigation.

A 29-year-old woman, from Clacton, was arrested on suspicion of drug driving after officers stopped the car in which she was travelling on Olivers Road just before 11am.

She has been released on bail pending further enquiries.

A total of 45 drivers were also found not wearing a seatbelt during the operation, which was aimed at increasing road safety and detecting offenders on the roads.

Five vehicles were found not to have valid MOTs and six drivers were dealt with for using a mobile phone behind the wheel.