West Midlands Police cart off 10 vehicles with no tax as campaign cracks down on illegal cars

Officers in the city have seized a total of 10 cars in the last month which have been parked on the road without having the necessary tax.

In the latest seizure, two cars parked on Bolton Road, close to Wednesfield Police Station, were seized by police for not being correctly taxed, meaning they cannot be on the road, even if they are parked.

Wednesfield police revealed that the cars were 'brazenly' parked at the back of the police station under the false impression that police would not carry out checks in the area.

In a tweet they said: "Most houses in this road do not have driveways, so owners think it's okay to keep untaxed cars on the road...it isn't."

In the past month, officers in Wednesfield, Heath Town and East Park have seized 10 untaxed vehicles.

One car, an Audi from the Wednesfield area, was being driven despite not being taxed since April 2015.

Wednesfield North councillor Phil Bateman said: "The issue is a simple one, we want all people who own cars to keep them safe and legal. It's for safety reasons as well as for lawful reasons.

"I am just pleased Wednesfield police have started to take this action.

"I can sympathise that tax and insurance can be expensive, particularly for owners of high performance vehicles, but it is to protect the people in the cars as well as those who may come into contact with the cars on the outside.

"People who live here just want to see drivers taxed and insured properly so they can be safe on the roads. I welcome the move by the police to tackle this."

It is believed that the operation is part of a wider crackdown on tax avoiders by the police across the region.

A tweet by Staffordshire Police said: "If you have no tax, you will have no vehicle, untaxed cars have no place on Staffordshire roads and will be seized." In a further tweet, West Midlands Police said: "Bangers and Beamers, Austins and Audis – no place for any of them without the correct docs."