A DVLA boss says it’s “mad” what possessions people leave in untaxed cars, lifting the lid on the curious items found in Leeds.
This comes as 14,930 vehicles have been impounded in Leeds over the course of last year. Car clamping boss Paul Davies showed off a vehicle pound in Wortley.
The DVLA man pointed out a black Mercedes in the Whitehall Industrial Estate pound which had a range of discarded possessions that Paul couldn’t stop shaking his head over.
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Paul, 40, said: "You can see this lovely Mercedes. When we lift these vehicles, people’s possessions are in them and in this actual vehicle, we do have a violin. It’s mad to see what people are leaving in these vehicles and not actually coming to collect."
The father-of-one, eight, tutted at how the Mercedes owner had also left mail and coat hangers within the car.
“I don’t know whether they’re a musician themselves going around playing concerts – but I am sure they must be missing these items,” commented the DVLA National Wheel Clamping and ANPR Manager.
The man, who’s originally from Ammanford in Wales, lifted the lid on the strangest items he’s found in vehicles.
He said: “People have been shopping, there’s jump leads, boxes from Argos that they’ve recently purchased, there’s a range of items. I think this is the first time, I’ve ever had a violin in a car.
“If there’s food in the car, we can’t enter the vehicles so they would just have to decompose in the vehicle. Until it’s sold on, then obviously the new owner can access the cars – that’s the only time. We don’t have the keys. If customers don’t want the vehicles, they can come along and collect their possessions and get everything out before it goes to auction or disposal.”
Impounded vehicles are either taken to auctions or crushed, depending on their value. Before this, no one is allowed to enter the vehicle. Although, Paul relents that if someone chooses not to take back their vehicle, they can come to collect their items inside.
The DVLA has launched a new campaign, where the resounding message is ‘tax it, don’t risk it’, stating that vehicles are hard to hide but easy to tax. More than 98 per cent of UK motorists have been taking their vehicles, so they’re “targeting” a small minority of drivers – the two per cent.
Paul says that most onlookers “applaud” his team when they’ve clamped and seized a vehicle. He says he finds trouble in “challenging areas”, and spoke of how a man got so angry with his team he ripped his shirt off and started “being aggressive” just the other week.
He’s not fazed by this however, describing enforcement officers as well trained to diffuse difficult situations. The NSL team clamp the vehicles across the country.
'Crown jewel'
Paul’s eyes lit up when he mentioned the pound’s “crown jewel” item. This was an untaxed motorhome, found very recently using the ANPR numberplate scanning technology – they’d found it on a quiet road.
The enforcement team aren’t allowed to enter the vehicles but Paul made assurances that no one was inside. Checks were carried out to ensure that no-one was in the vehicle upon seizure.
Paul said: “We can’t access the vehicles, it’s not our property. We’ve been around there trying to listen in to see if we can hear anybody but safe to say, there’s no one inside.
“It would be a massive shock to everyone in the pound – but thankfully there’s no one inside.”
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