REGARDING the reporting of an unlicensed vehicle to the police and no action being taken (Letters, June 17), I can empathise with your reader.

In April I reported four unlicensed vehicles, all of which are driven by one household.

Since then I have reported the matter a further three times and still nothing has been done.

Three vehicles are parked on the road without tax discs, one for more than 12 months, and the others for at least six months.

It was only when a fourth vehicle, also lacking a tax disc, appeared that I decided to inform the police.

Obviously if there is no tax disc then it is unlikely that an MoT or insurance certificate has been obtained, which is definitely against the law. Every household would be able to afford two or more cars if they didn't have to pay to keep it on the road.

I informed the police about the unlicensed vehicles and said that, in my opinion, they were also unfit for the road.

I was given the excuse that it was not a police matter and that it was up to the DVLA to take action. The vehicles are used daily and still do not show valid tax discs. In March/April it was reported that there had been a successful police purge on car tax dodgers. It would be interesting to know who was responsible for those prosecutions.

Perhaps the police would like to explain why, when they are made aware of the situation, they allow irresponsible motorists to carry on breaking the law.

Name and address received

FOOTNOTE: Police have said they will always act on any reports of cars parked on the public highway without a tax disc. The police have joined forces with the DVLA in recent months on crackdowns on tax dodgers.

They also say recently-introduced measures have proved a great success and there are very few cars on the road without tax discs.

Anyone wanting to report tax dodgers should contact the traffic section at Accrington police station on 01254 382141.

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