Drivers face having to pay a £200 fine or seeing their cars crushed after a week-long blitz on car tax dodgers in Peterlee.

Police claim the seven-day campaign, code-named Operation Lariat, has had a dramatic impact on the area by removing untaxed, abandoned and illegally-parked cars in the town centre.

During the campaign, 26 unlicensed cars have been towed away by the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) to a compound on Tyneside where they will be destroyed unless their owners come forward to pay a fine and any outstanding duty.

Another seven cars judged to have been abandoned were removed in the same sweep and the owners face similar penalties.

Three notices were issue to vehicles parked on private land and another 13 verbal warnings were given to people whose cars were illegally parked on council-owned grassland.

The campaign was preceded by a leaflet drop by council street wardens to more than 7,000 homes in the town, and was led by four teams of police and council officers.

PC Jim Cowell, the officer who oversaw the operation, said: "Dumped and illegally parked cars are unsightly and affect the quality of life of everyone living in the area.

"The force's recently launched StreetSafe campaign is to tackle the anti-social behaviour and disorder that can be so damaging to everyday life.

"The whole place now looks cleaner and tidier and we hope the public prefers to see it like that and will keep it that way."

He warned: "If they lapse back into their old and illegal habits, we will take action again."

Anyone who wants to report abandoned or untaxed cars in east Durham can ring Easington District Council on 0191-527 5040 or the police on 0845 6060365.

A similar one-day operation in Coxhoe and Bowburn earlier this week netted ten vehicles.

Beat officers, DVLA officials, neighbourhood wardens and community safety officers swamped a number of streets in the two villages after residents complained.

Sgt Steve West said: "We were acting directly in response to information passed on by the community.

"All the vehicles we seized were roadworthy and looked like they were being used on a daily basis."