Pay up or have your vehicle crushed!

That was the stark option presented to 30 owners following a successful sweep of the Tendring District aimed at removing untaxed vehicles from the streets.

In a joint initiative between Tendring District Council (TDC), Essex Police (Clacton division), The Neighbourhood Interaction Board's Community Warden Team and A1 Walton Salvage the whole area was tackled over a five day period from March 31 to April 4, 2008.

Untaxed vehicles were targeted - having already been identified by Police Community Support Officers on their patrols and by TDC officers.

The cars or vans were then towed away and the owners were given the option of paying up a minimum of £200 - or see it go to the scrap yard to be crushed.

If they came forward within 24 hours there was an £80 fee, plus a £120 surety or a valid tax disc to pay. After 24 hours the fee then doubled to £160, plus the £120.

After 48 hours the owner also faced a storage fee of £15 a day.

Sarah Tomlinson, TDC's Anti-Social Behaviour Co-ordinator, said it was a successful operation.

"We were able to remove a large number of untaxed vehicles from the roads within Tendring," she said.

"It was an excellent example of the partnership working extremely well together, collating the necessary information and arranging the removal of the vehicles."

Sgt Cheryl Hayes added: "This was a successful week due to the hard work carried out by the PCSOs prior to the operation. This is a strong message to people who fail to purchase tax for their vehicle and we will be looking to carry out similar initiatives in the future."

Some of the 30 owners who were caught out returned as their vehicle was being removed - but in time to be given a notice setting out their options.

Others came back to find their vehicle had already been seized and they then had to call Clacton Police to be told it had been taken as part of Operation Cubit.

A number of them took the option to have their vehicle crushed - rather than pay up to get it back. However, they may still be chased up by the DVLA for back pay owed from not taxing the car in the first place.

Cllr Michael Dew, TDC's Portfolio Holder for Corporate Governance and Resources, praised this co-operative effort to remove unwanted vehicles from the streets of Tendring and thanked all those involved.