70 cars caught in tax blitz

7:19am Thursday 23rd August 2007

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SEVENTY vehicles have been clamped or towed away in a blitz on untaxed cars in Wiltshire.

The joint Wiltshire Police and Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) operation targeted motorists who drive untaxed vehicles between August 6-17.

Since car tax can only be purchased with a valid MOT and insurance certificate, it reduces the number of potentially dangerous, untaxed, uninsured and unroadworthy vehicles on our roads, helping to make them safer places.

Chief Inspector Nick Elton, head of Roads Policing for Wiltshire Police, said: "This is a county wide operation and is great news for law abiding motorists and bad news for criminals.

"We are committed to helping reduce crime and making the streets safer for everyone. The majority of the resources for this operation are being provided by the DVLA and their approved contractor which means that very few Police resources are actually involved.

"This is a new chapter in the fight against crime in Wiltshire, by working with the DVLA we will be able to track down, impound and potentially crush untaxed vehicles quicker than ever before."

The DVLA has a fleet of vans that are equipped with state-of-the-art Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) technology that automatically checks number plates against a list of untaxed vehicles in a matter of seconds.

Any car identified as untaxed will be immediately clamped and possibly impounded and those not claimed after seven days could be crushed.