Hundreds of motorists have been forced to pay £150 to recover their cars after police advised them to abandon them in blizzard conditions on Monday.
As heavy snow fell relentlessly, drivers stuck on the M4 and M40 near High Wycombe, Bucks, were eventually forced to desert their cars and make their way on foot.
Police confirmed they told people to desert their vehicles if they wanted to get home.
But the motorists were in for a shock the following morning when they discovered their cars had been removed and they would have to pay a recovery company to get them back.
A spokesman for Thames Valley told Sky News Online: “We advised people to leave their cars, they weren’t going to get anywhere in them overnight.
“No cars parked on the hard-shoulder of a motorway would have been removed.
“But where they were causing an obstruction or a danger then we have to make sure they are moved out of the way.”
Both the police and the Highways Agency have the powers to move the cars under the removal and disposal of vehicles regulations.
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mid island mike
It would be interesting to know how many of those drivers ignored warning to stay off the road. How many really had to get somewhere.
Just had an e-mail from a cousin in Tucson, AZ, and her bird waterer is frozen over. The accidents are unbelievable. She knows AB winters and is staying home.