POLICE are using cartoon character Fred Flintstone's famous catchphrase in the fight against crime.

And the Cheshire Constabulary scheme has already gained national recognition after being highlighted in new weekly men's magazine Nuts.

The force's new criminal catcher - the Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) unit - alerts officers that offenders are on the move by the sound of Fred's voice.

It hones in on car numberplates. If the registration matches that of an offending car on the police computer, it blares out his catchphrase 'Yabba Dabba Doo!'.

Officers are using the ANPR system to target those in stolen cars, those without tax or insurance, and persistent crooks who are travelling into the county.

Once identified, their vehicles are all intercepted, stopped and checked thoroughly.

Superintendent Richard Strachan, of the Cheshire Police road policing unit, said: 'This is just one of many ANPR initiatives we are conducting on a regular basis throughout the county. The new ANPR team helps officers to identify persistent criminals who think they are anonymous travelling on a packed motorway. We're here to tell them they're not and they'll be caught.'