Road tax cheats are being targeted in a new campaign.

Squads from the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency are warning drivers they will be clamping vehicles without valid road tax. Failure to pay the release fee and produce a valid tax disc will result in the vehicle being crushed or sold at auction.

A campaign was being launched today at the Oxford University Rugby Football Club ground in Jackdaw Lane, off Iffley Road.

Police officers have been gathering information to ensure the DVLA targets offenders effectively.

Insp Dave Hartin, who heads the Thames Valley force's traffic intelligence and operations department, said: "We know that car owners who pay their tax are sick and tired of tax dodgers, so we are happy to support this DVLA campaign.

"We also know that some untaxed cars we come across will be uninsured and unroadworthy and may have been used for criminal activity.

"This clampdown will give us an ideal opportunity to target criminals and their unlawful use of cars, as well as the persistent tax dodger."

DVLA figures show there are 59,000 unlicensed vehicles registered in the Thames Valley area a revenue loss of £7.8m. This includes 16,000 vehicles in Oxfordshire.

In the financial year 1999/2000, there were 17,400 successfully completed cases of excise duty evasion in the Thames Valley, which recovered £2.3million in revenue.