POLICE in Halesowen have carried out early morning raids on residents who had totted up unpaid fines totalling £9,343.

Officers, working with members of Her Majesty's Court Service (HMCS), enforced a series of warrants across the Halesowen area at the end of last month.

Dudley Magistrates' Court issued warrants for non-payment of fines for motoring offences, compensation to victims of crime and failure to pay TV licences and council tax.

Seven people were arrested and put before Warley and Dudley Magistrates' Court.

Three people made on the spot payments totalling £2,000 in order to avoid going to court.

Sergeant Heather Sloan said: "This was an excellent partnership operation which led to a number of people being brought to account for their consistent failure to pay fines imposed on them by the courts.

"Some of the fines date back several years and these individuals have had numerous opportunities to pay their fine but have failed to do so, which has lead to us leading a robust operation with HMCS.

"We will be conducting more warrants like this over the coming months, so I would urge anyone with outstanding fines to make payment promptly to avoid arrest."