The amount of cars being clamped has almost doubled since the paper disc tax was scrapped two years ago, it has emerged.
Figures released to the BBC through a Freedom of Information request showed 9,000 vehicles were clamped in a month – an 80 per cent rise on the average before the change was brought in.
The data showed only around 5,100 cars a month were clamped in the six months leading up to the tax disc being abolished in October 2014.
Motorists complained the lack of a paper disc had contributed to the clamping surge as it reminded them when to renew their tax.
Nurse Joanne McCusker, from Salford, told the BBC: “In all my years of driving I've missed one payment and that was only since they've removed the tax disc.”
Clamped drivers can expect to fork out hundreds of pounds when their vehicles are seized, which includes a £100 release fee on the first day which doubles when it is taken to a pound.
Parking charges can add a further £21 a day while a late licensing fee of £80 can also be imposed.
The DVLA's chief executive Oliver Morley said guidance on when to pay tax was still clear despite scrapping the paper discs.
He told the BBC: “The law is that you pay your tax. The vast majority pay with no problem at all.”
