Plan makes it crunch-time for tax-dodging motorists

Motorists face the prospect of having their vehicles clamped, impounded or even crushed in a nationwide crackdown on road-tax dodgers, it was announced yesterday. The scheme - dubbed "Pressing for Payment" because cars can end up in the scrap yard - will be unveiled tomorrow by Sir George Young, the Secretary of State for Transport. A three-month pilot scheme in five London boroughs has already proved a huge success, helping to recover pounds 2m in unpaid tax.

The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency estimates there are 1.6 million tax cheats currently costing the country pounds 175m in lost revenue every year. Motoring groups said they also expected the scheme to help root out insurance dodgers who cost drivers an extra pounds 10-a-year in higher premiums.