A DRIVER took his car for an MOT only for it to be towed to Plymouth by the DVLA.

Ken Allard, aged 74, now has to pay more than £400 to get his Vauxhall Cavalier and would have to travel to Devon to pick it up.

He took his car, which was not taxed, to Christchurch Garage on Somerford Road.

Staff completed part of the work and moved it to a slip-road on Mudeford Lane while they worked on another car. The vehicle disappeared and Mr Allard thought it had been stolen.

He phoned the police only to be told the DVLA had removed it.

He told the Echo: “I was getting it MOTd and then I was going to get it taxed.

“It’s really upset me and now they are charging £21 a day for storage.

“They should have put a warning sticker on and they most certainly should not be taking cars from Bournemouth all the way to Plymouth.”

Mr Allard said the car had previously been in storage and did not need to be taxed because it came from his own days as a motor dealer.

Gary Snell, the garage owner, said vehicles had never been removed by the DVLA before.

“It’s a bit wrong. They shouldn’t have just taken it away,” he said.

The towing was done by Vehicle Enforcement and Ancillary Services VEAS, a part of the private firm Capita, which is contracted to the DVLA.

A VEAS spokesman said: “The vehicle was taken to the nearest site, which is located in Plymouth.

“We agreed to waive the storage charge for six days. A third party sent to collect the vehicle did not have identification or the funds.

“The fees and charges for release and storage are set by parliament. VEAS only handles payment of the vehicle enforcement fees.”