Clampdown on tax dodgers (From Western Telegraph)

Clampdown on tax dodgers

POLICE in Pembrokeshire clamped 27 vehicles in the first week of their crackdown on road tax dodgers.

Using the DVLA's new Stingray cameras, officers are able to automatically read the registration numbers of passing cars and instantaneously check with a central computer to see whether the vehicle has a valid tax certificate.

Police Sergeant Andy Miles, of the Traffic Section at Haverfordwest, said: "The past week has been a great success, but it just goes to show that some people will continue to drive regardless of the law."

Motorists who are clamped will have to pay £200 to have their vehicle released - an £80 release fee, plus £120 surety against the purchase of a valid tax disc. However, if the vehicle is not claimed within 24 hours, it will be towed away and the fee will increase to £280, plus £15 per day storage costs.

The campaign will continue to focus on Pembrokeshire until the end of this week, but the cameras will remain in the Dyfed-Powys Police Force area, where there are said to be 17,000 unlicensed vehicles costing the DVLA in the region of £1.8 million.