A CONTRACT to clear abandoned and damaged cars from Britain’s motorways has moved from the police to a Huddersfield firm.

The UK’s first-ever National Vehicle Recovery Manager contract has been awarded to FMG Support, based at St Andrew’s Road, Bradley Mills.

The Highways Agency has signed a three year deal with FMG Support to run the new service – with the opportunity to extend it for a further two years.

It will enable Highways Agency traffic officers to exercise new powers to order the quick and safe removal of abandoned, broken down and accident-damaged vehicles from the motorway network.

FMG will arrange for the vehicles to be recovered – a role currently carried out by the police.

Derek Turner, Highways Agency director of network operations, said: “The appointment of FMG Support is a key milestone for the transfer of this function from our police partners.

“We are looking forward to working alongside FMG Support over the next three to five years.”

FMG Support has a longstanding background in vehicle recovery. It will provide a one-stop contact for Highways Agency traffic officers to remove vehicles posing a danger or obstruction to other motorway users.

As national vehicle recovery manager, FMG Support will manage a network of local vehicle recovery operator contracts and will ensure that a suitable vehicle recovery operator attends to remove vehicles.

The first regional group of traffic officers is likely to start using the new service in eastern England early in the New Year.

FMG Support, which achieved turnover exceeding £70m last year, specialises in roadside repair and recovery of commercial goods vehicles and already has a network of 1,350 supply partners – independent recovery operators – to help deliver the services.

FMG Support, founded in 1986, employs more than 360 people at its offices in St Andrew’s Road and provides services including incident management, roadside repair, recovery management and vehicle rental management for clients including Royal Mail, Carlsberg, Hoyer UK and Reebok.

When a company’s vehicle is involved in an accident, stolen or vandalised, FMG Support responds around the clock throughout the year to manage every stage of the incident process – from organising replacement vehicles through to estimates and repairs, claims handling, loss recovery and risk reduction.

The business, led by chief executive Nick Brown, has grown rapidly in recent years – securing a position as a preferred provider of incident management services to several major vehicle leasing organisations, including LeasePlan, Masterlease and GE Commercial Finance Fleet Services.