When? 10am, Thursday, 15 November  

Where? Metro Salvage, Waterloo Street, Bolton.

Manchester City Council will today crush the 10,000th untaxed, unclaimed vehicle to be removed from the city's streets.

The council has worked with the DVLA since 2004 in an effort to rid Manchester's streets of vehicles that are untaxed, potentially uninsured and often have no MOT. 

Councillor Neil Swannick, Executive Member for Environment, said: "The owners of cars which have been removed and crushed aren't people who's tax is just a few days overdue, but people who apparently have no intention of taxing their vehicles at all.  Not only are they an eyesore, but they're often badly maintained and dangerous, and getting rid of them benefits everyone. The DVLA can claim back the revenue they're owed and the police can move them off the streets, cleaning up the environment for residents who want to be able to take pride in their neighbourhood."    

Untaxed vehicles are regularly used by criminals, and by removing them from the streets the city council can help to prevent potential criminal activity.

Tim Cowen, of NCP Services, which operates the service on behalf of Manchester City Council, commented: Since so many of the vehicles we remove are found to be uninsured and without MOT, we routinely find cars that are little more than death traps which every sensible, law-abiding driver will be relieved to see removed from the streets.
 
According to DVLA figures, more than 70 per cent of untaxed vehicles owners have other criminal records, so action against untaxed vehicles is likely to reduce other crime as well.

Parking Attendants play an invaluable role as the 'eyes and ears' of the council, identifying untaxed vehicles which are then 'called in' to be removed.

Response by removal trucks is rapid.  They are on hand 24 hours a day, 365 days a year and will respond to requests to remove untaxed vehicles within 2 hours, with an average removal being completed within 30 minutes.  

The council has also worked closely with Greater Manchester Police on a number of operations including the Respect Action weeks, using Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) to identify vehicles entering the city without valid tax.  

Vehicles that remain unclaimed or where the owner fails to pay the outstanding fees will result in the ultimate sanction of having their car crushed.

Ends.

Media contact :  Rebecca Kennedy/Deborah Grace: 0161 234 3332
Rebecca Kennedy
Press Office, Room 322
Town Hall, Albert Square,
Manchester M60 2LA