A MAN whose car was stripped for parts while it was wrongly held at a police pound for four years has demanded an investigation.

Thames Valley Police this week agreed to pay an out-of-court settlement – believed to be in the region of £13,000 – after Jeremy Pascoe’s Land Rover Discovery had to be written off after being damaged while in police care.

Door mirrors, indicators, dashboard, door handles and hub caps were stripped while it was kept at a police pound on Ministry of Defence land near Bicester between 2004 and 2008.

It also suffered extensive damage to the panels and doors, and a dog had been living on the back seat.

When he finally won a battle for the vehicle to be returned, it had to be written off.

Police now face more court hearings to sort out £50,000 legal costs after they admitted liability last year. But father-of-one Mr Pascoe has demanded a police investigation into who stripped the car for parts. He claimed there were oily fingerprints left on the vehicle when it was returned.

He said: “I feel happy I have been vindicated and they’ve been found guilty on every count.

“But they are still refusing to investigate properly. Whoever did this has got away with it now.”

Police were due at Oxford County Court on Wednesday to settle the dispute, but Mr Pascoe accepted the out-of-court offer because he could no longer afford the legal fees.

He added: “Not only did they have a duty of care to my property, but they were responsible for the damage. They’ve dragged it out and it has cost a colossal amount of money to the council tax payer if all costs are taken into account.”

His car was handed to Thames Valley Police in 2004 after it was stolen from Surrey and retrieved by West Midlands Police.

When his vehicle was found a police report described it as in good condition, with just a flat tyre and two scratches to a wing.

But when it was handed back, a report said it was beyond economic repair with extensive damage and parts missing.

Police told Mr Pascoe the car was kept because it was part of a criminal investigation, although this was later disproved in court.

A Thames Valley spokesman declined to comment last night on whether a criminal investigation would be held.

He said: “It is regrettable damage was caused to Mr Pascoe’s vehicle while it was in the care of Thames Valley Police and we apologise for this.

“We no longer use the site near Bicester and would like to reassure people every effort is made to ensure the sites we use to store vehicles are safe and secure.”

mwilkinson@oxfordmail.co.uk