Merseyside Police is working in partnership with the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) to remove untaxed vehicles and make St Helens roads safer.
The intelligence led operation, codenamed "Cubit", was carried out by the Town's Traffic Community Support Officers and Police Officers on Tuesday 12 October throughout the Town Centre, Windle and Newton-le-Willows neighbourhoods.
The operation uncovered 17 vehicles with either no tax at all or displaying tax discs that had expired – 10 were clamped pending payment of a £200 release fee or collection by the DVLA. A further 7 vehicles have been reported to the DVLA for displaying invalid tax discs.
Preventing future abandonment
This multi-agency approach encourages people to tax their motor vehicles and aims to prevent future abandonment. Agencies will also follow through with prosecutions for the full range of Road Traffic Act offences relating to abandoned vehicles.
Chief Inspector John Martin commented "This operation targets illegal road users who evade paying their road tax and, in some cases, may even be driving without insurance or an MOT. It's one of many initiatives we are running to make our roads safer and address the public's concerns over problems relating to untaxed and abandoned vehicles.
"Over the last 21 months, we have dealt with 242 untaxed vehicles in St Helens. People who are intent on pursuing the dangerous practice of driving illegally, or committing other such crimes should be warned - don't do it because you will be caught."