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In their first week on the streets of Eastbourne the new team of NCP Services parking attendants have managed to identify 85 untaxed vehicles on the streets of the town.

Since being deployed the PAs have been issuing warning notices to any illegally parked cars but they have also been carrying out the other duties, which they provide to the communities they serve.

These duties include checking the tax discs of vehicles to ensure that they are up to date and reporting any that are not.

Depending on how out of date the tax is the cars will receive either a warning letter, a postal fine of £80 plus the arrears or its details will be passed to a DVLA clamp and removal team.

Any cars clamped by the DVLA and, if the motorist does not pay a release fee, removed to a pound.

Vehicles are then released back to the owners on receipt of a fine and either proof that car tax has been bought or a surety, which is paid back when the car tax is subsequently paid.

James Pritchard, from NCP Services, the company who employs the enforcement team in Eastbourne, said the results demonstrated that PAs do a lot more than simply ticket cars.

“Our PAs have a number of responsibilities in addition to issuing PCNs against illegally parked cars and reported untaxed vehicles is one of them,” he said.

“There is a very good reason why they do this. Untaxed cars are often also uninsured and also invariably have no MOT. This can mean they are unroadworthy and dangerous.

“By identifying these cars PAs also serve a useful role in helping ensure that abandoned vehicles are removed from the streets quickly, something which prevents them becoming a problem for the community.

“When you add this work into the role our PAs play in helping the police on joint operations, acting as a uniformed presence on our streets and simply giving directions to lost tourists, then I think people will realise that they do a great deal more than simply issue parking tickets.”

ENDS

For further details contact James Pritchard, NCP Services, 0207 290 6218/ 07793 697 409.