POLICE across Cheshire and Merseyside took to the streets as a show of strength against cross-county criminals.

More than 200 officers were deployed at an event in Widnes on Monday, October 17, as a 'show of strength' by the constabularies.

The event was to display to the public - and to criminals - the resources that both Cheshire and Merseyside police services have at their disposal.

Warrington Guardian: The initiative promised to be a 'show of strength' to criminals committing crimes across county linesThe initiative promised to be a 'show of strength' to criminals committing crimes across county lines (Image: Newsquest)

This cross-border initiative brought pulled focus on the high visibility of officers and has been named Operation Crossbow.

Chief Superintendent Alison Ross said: "Crossbow is our joint response to policing the region’s borders including those who use road and rail networks to commit criminality and to send a strong message to individuals associated with or linked to serious and organised crime.

"We know there is a strong link between the illegal use of vehicles and other serious and organised crime, which is why we are working together with our colleagues in Merseyside and British Transport Police to target these criminals as they travel across the region."

The Warrington Guardian asked Ch Supt Ross why the public should trust that the police will continue with the high visibility after the event, and in the weeks and months following the initiative.

Ch Supt Ross said: "What we're doing is drawing attention to the work we do every day; this is daily policing - we're just bringing attention to it.

"This is a big show of strength against cross-border crime."

Hundreds of police vehicles attended the launch of the initiative, with one officer saying: "Resources are massively on-hand today.

"We're policing today as usual, and we'll be pulling over every single car that gets flagged with us for one reason or another - whether it's stolen, without tax, or without insurance."

Warrington Guardian: Officers were deployed at the event, with hundreds of vehicles leaving the site to patrol the areaOfficers were deployed at the event, with hundreds of vehicles leaving the site to patrol the area (Image: Newsquest)

At the beginning of the event launch, one group of officers was called away on a pursuit of a vehicle flagged by numberplate recognition software - the pursuit led to the driver being arrested for driving without insurance, and for driving under the influence of drugs.

Cheshire Police say that Operation Crossbow will 'take the fight back' to cross-county criminals.