THE 30,000 road tax cheats estimated to be on North Yorkshire's roads will have nowhere to hide from Monday.

Under the banner, "Your time is up, don't risk it - tax it", wheelclamping hit squads will be trawling the streets of the county as part of a new campaign to hunt down drivers who are costing the country £3 million in lost revenue.

When authorised by the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA), the teams will be able to clamp vehicles without valid tax discs on the spot.

North Yorkshire police will be helping the drive against dodgers by mounting roadside checks to snare not only road tax cheats but also drivers guilty of other motoring offences, including driving without insurance or a valid MoT certificate.

Last year, 8,100 North Yorkshire road tax cheats were brought to justice and £908,000 of lost revenue was recovered.

Motorists caught in this new campaign will face a range of penalties.

It will cost them £80 to have a wheelclamp released, or £160 impounding fee - plus £15 per day storage - if the vehicle remains unclaimed for more than 24 hours.

Offenders must produce a current tax disc or a surety payment against getting one - £120 for cars and motorcycles and up to £600 for all other vehicles.

The surety is forfeited if no licence is produced within 14 days.

Vehicles left unclaimed after five weeks will be crushed or sold at auction.

On top of all that, road tax evaders will also face prosecution with a maximum fine of £1,000 for a car or motorcycle and up to £23,000 for a heavy goods vehicle, plus the back duty they owe.

The DVLA says law-abiding motorists have nothing to fear from their latest purge.

Those whose tax disc has fallen off the windscreen or who are a few days late renewing their tax will not be penalised.

The DVLA has also declared war on false number plates by issuing a consultation paper about a proposed scheme to make it more difficult for criminals to get false plates.

Fake television licence stamps worth more than £200,000 have been recovered in a raid by police in Harrogate.

Officers arrested three men at a transport depot in the Harrogate area yesterday.

The counterfeit stamps were found to have been imported from Europe and police are working with Post Office investigators and Interpol to track down the source of the stamps.

The three men, all from Leeds, have been released on police bail pending further inquiries.

Updated: 11:11 Saturday, June 30, 2001