A BOURNEMOUTH council maintenance van was caught displaying an invalid tax disc which revealed its road tax had expired four months previously.

The white Ford Transit van used by the council for buildings maintenance work was discovered with the out-of-date tax disc whilst parked at St Clements Gardens in Boscombe.

All Vehicles registered in the UK that are used or parked on public roads must be taxed and the penalty for not doing so is a minimum of £80.

Failure to settle the fine will result in prosecution where the court may increase the fine to a maximum of £1000 depending on the circumstances.

Boscombe Cllr Jane Kelly said: “This is obviously a very unfortunate incident. It is very important to make sure your road tax is always up-to-date.”

A spokesperson for the DVLA said: “The DVLA can take enforcement action if a vehicle is driving on a public highway untaxed. If tax has been paid but the disc has not been displayed then there is still an offence, but it is something the police would need to enforce.”

“So failure to display a valid tax disc can become a police matter.”

If you have a valid tax disc but it is not on display, an officer may issue you a Fixed Penalty Notice as a tax disc should be clearly visible in the window.

Margaret Leslie, operations manager at Bournemouth Council, said: “The car has a valid tax disc which was purchased in October last year. We will ensure the driver is very diligent in their checks to ensure the tax disc is on display.”

Vehicles can also be clamped by the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) and when this occurs either a fee of £100 must be paid or a valid tax disc must be produced within 24 hours.

You can report an untaxed vehicle to the DVLA through this link: www.gov.uk/report-untaxed-vehicle.