ENFORCEMENT officers from Uttlesford District Council are continuing their clampdown on untaxed vehicles in the district.

Seven vehicles have been removed from the public highway in locations across the district in recent weeks. The most recent ones were on Friday (May 13) when an Alpha Romeo and a BMW were towed away.

Both vehicles were registered SORN (Statutory Off-Road Notice) but in each case the vehicle was parked on the road, which is against the law.

The Alpha Romeo was removed from Shirehill, Saffron Walden, and the BMW from Bullfields, Newport. The registered keeper of the BMW has now paid a �100 release fee but the council is still waiting for the registered keeper of the Alpha Romeo to come forward. If they do not, then the car will be destroyed.

A Renault Laguna estate was reported by residents and the police after sitting on Hollyhock Road in Saffron Walden for months without a valid tax disc. The tax expired in January but many weeks later it was still there. After the council arranged for the car to be towed away, the owner got in touch and paid a release fee of �221.

A resident in Newport reported an untaxed Toyota Carina parked on High Street and this car was removed and subsequently scrapped because the owner did not come forward, while in Birdbush Avenue, Saffron Walden, a resident reported a Citroen Saxo with an out of date tax disc. While this car was registered SORN, it was parked on the public highway and therefore it was removed.

A similar case was also found in Wicken Road, Wicken Bonhunt, where a Volkswagen Golf was parked on the public highway despite only having permission to be parked off-road.

And finally, a Renault Megane with no valid tax was reported to the district council as being parked on a grass verge in The Street, Takeley. Essex County Council confirmed this was part of the public highway, so the district council arranged for it to be removed.

In addition to paying release fees, owners of untaxed vehicles may also have to pay the DVLA for a new tax disc, including a back-dated payment, before they can get their vehicle back.

A council spokesman said: “It is important that residents do report untaxed vehicles to us so we can take the necessary action. Untaxed vehicles can be linked to other car offences, such as having no insurance or MOT and to mechanical defects which could make the vehicle dangerous.

“If a vehicle is registered off-road then it must be kept off-road. The district council has a responsibility to keep the streets safe and clean and we will investigate every report of an abandoned car we receive.”