Drivers using illegal or obscured number plates are being targeted in a new nationwide police crackdown.

The Government has announced funding for a new roads policing team which will bring together police forces across England to tackle illegal number plates and organised crime.

The National Roads Policing Coordination Centre will allow forces to share intelligence, technology and data as part of efforts to identify vehicles attempting to avoid detection.

It means motorists in Hertfordshire and across the country could see increased enforcement against so-called "ghost plates", cloned registrations and vehicles being driven without number plates.

New technology being trialled includes specialist goggles capable of detecting registration plates which have been deliberately altered to make them difficult for cameras to read.

Illegal plates can be used by motorists attempting to avoid speeding, parking and clean air zone penalties, but police say they are also associated with more serious organised crime and the transportation of illegal goods.

Vehicles which cannot be identified by Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) cameras are also more difficult for police to trace when stolen or linked to other offences.

Roads Minister Justin Madders said the Government was introducing new policing resources and technology to tackle the problem.

He said illegal number plates were being used for offences ranging from avoiding parking charges to drug trafficking, adding that the crackdown should make roads and communities safer.

There are several types of illegal number plates being targeted.

Cloned plates involve copying the registration of another legitimate vehicle, while "ghost plates" use transparent films or other methods designed to prevent cameras from reading the registration. Police will also target vehicles being driven with missing plates.

Motorists can currently be fined up to £1,000 for displaying a number plate incorrectly.

Chief Superintendent Marc Clothier, Deputy National Coordinator for the National Roads Policing Coordination Centre, said the new funding would improve national coordination between police forces and help develop new approaches to roads policing.

The Department for Transport said the initiative forms part of the Government's wider Road Safety Strategy – the first such strategy in more than a decade.

Ministers have also consulted on introducing tougher penalties for drivers using illegal number plates, reviewing number plate standards and improving enforcement.

The DVLA and DVSA are working alongside police to identify illegal plates, including investigating businesses suspected of supplying them and supporting roadside enforcement operations.