CAR TAX dodgers in Huddersfield have had their vehicles clamped.

And many of the vehicles will be hoisted into a crushing machine.

A four-day crackdown by officials from the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency was finishing today.

They caught 47 drivers without valid tax discs - and warned today that cars worth tens of thousands of pounds would be crushed if the owners did not pay up.

Nine motorists have forked out £80 to have their cars returned from the DVLA pound.

Those who do not pay up can expect their vehicles to be crushed after 14 days.

Car drivers guilty of tax offences pay a fine of £80 to have the clamp removed and a £120 surety.

The surety is returned when they produce a tax disc.

"This has cost them a lot more than buying a valid tax disc," said a DVLA spokeswoman.

"We are out there and we are clamping vehicles every day of the week. There has been no hiding place."

She continued: "Over 90% of motorists pay their tax.

"We are not persecuting. We are showing the honest motorists that something is being done."

Vehicle excise duty evasion cost the United Kingdom an estimated £193m last year - 4.5% of total revenue.

The DVLA spokeswoman said tax disc evasion was linked to all forms of criminality.

"Drivers of vehicles bearing dodgy discs are often wanted by police for outstanding warrants, immigration matters, or they may be in possession of stolen goods or drugs," she added.

"Most motorists are not criminals," said the spokeswoman. "But most criminals drive."

The evasion rates for motorcycles and agricultural vehicles were 22.9% and 26.8% respectively last year.

* Are heavy-handed tactics justified for tax dodgers? Have your say by e-mail to editorial@examiner.co.uk or by phone on 01484 430000.