GRANDFATHER Raymond Hartley has been left furious after police seized his car and then made him pay £150 to get it back - despite having insurance.

He is now battling with the police to get his money refunded after an investigation said the officer had "just cause" to seize the car and therefore Mr Hartley would not be getting his £150 back.

And following the Echo's involvement Dorset Police has said it is "revisiting the request to reimburse this fee".

The 62-yer-old was driving his wife's Seat Leon on the night of Saturday, April 2, when he was pulled over for speeding in Whitecliff Road, Poole, on his way back from picking up his daughter and son-in-law from Sandbanks.

"I knew that I was speeding so had no issue with the fact I had been pulled over," explained Mr Hartley, who lives in Honeysuckle Lane.

"The officer asked for my licence and went off to carry out all the usual checks, but came back a few minutes later to tell me that the database was showing that I wasn't insured to drive the vehicle.

"I explained to him I had fully comp cover on my own vehicle but my insurance also covered me to drive any vehicle including my wife's car.

"The officer said that because the database was showing I wasn't insured then he would have to seize the car.

"It was a bit annoying but I didn't really have a problem with it because I knew the officer was only doing his job and I knew that I was 100 per cent insured."

The following day Mr Hartley and his wife took their insurance documents to Bournemouth Police Station proving that he was in fact insured to drive the vehicle.

He was then sent to the GRS Recovery site in Wallisdown to collect his wife's car - where he was told he had to part with £150 in order for the vehicle to be released.

After paying the fee Mr Hartley wrote to Dorset Police asking for the money to be refunded - but following a 50 day review he received a letter stating he would not be receiving a refund as the officer had "acted appropriately" and had "just cause to seize the vehicle".

With the £100 fine for speeding Mr Hartley had already paid this left him £250 out of pocket.

"It's really the principle of the matter. The fact that the police can take £150 off you because they think you have committed a crime is one thing but then not to return the money when it's been proved beyond doubt that you haven't is just completely unfair," he added.

A spokesman from Dorset Police have now said they will revisit Mr Hartley's request to reimburse the fee.

He added: "The officer acted appropriately and in good faith on the information available, and as part of his lawful duty seized the car for no insurance under Section 165A of the Road Traffic Act.

"During subsequent enquiries it was established that the man while not the main policy holder was insured as a named driver on a policy for another vehicle.

"After various enquiries the following week with the insurance company and its underwriters, it was confirmed that in this unusual instance the policy for the other vehicle would also cover the man for the Seat – even though the database had not been updated by the insurance company to reflect this."