HAVING read 'Drive tax cheats off the streets' (Letters, August 24), I feel obliged to respond on behalf of my officers who conducted this operation with the DVLA Wheelclamping Unit.

This unit was invited to visit the area as they have statutory powers to clamp and remove untaxed vehicles, which, unfortunately, we do not have.

I am aware that the DVLA issued a press statement during the operation pointing out that this was a 'joint' exercise between the DVLA (who had attended specifically at our invitation) and Pennine Division Road Policing Unit.

In order to make the exercise viable, we had been gathering intelligence for some time on untaxed vehicles, paying particular attention to those belonging to the criminal fraternity.

This intelligence enabled the clamping unit to visit the area and, in company with police officers/traffic wardens, deal with untaxed vehicles in a highly efficient and successful manner.

As a direct result of the work undertaken by my officers, more than 230 vehicles were clamped during the exercise and countless additional applications for excise licences were processed at Post Offices in the area.

We do not, as the writer of the letter suggests, 'turn a blind eye' to untaxed vehicles, but utilise the intelligence we gather to conduct exercises such as this. Let me assure your readers that this exercise is not a 'one off' as we have invited the clamping unit to visit this area again in the near future to carry out similar exercises.

D M HOLDEN, Inspector, Road Policing Unit, Lancashire Constabulary, Pennine Division, Colne.

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.