A MAN was devastated to be landed with a £150 bill to get his car back after it was stolen by thieves.

Peter Ingleby’s Rover 25 was taken from outside his home in Kexwith Moor Close, Darlington, in the early hours of Thursday (November 20).

The vehicle was found by police in the town's George Street later that day and was removed for forensic examination.

Mr Ingleby was told he could pick the car up from the firm who were storing it on behalf of the police once officers had finished with it – but only if he paid £150.

The 62-year-old, whose cash card and mobile phone was also taken, said: “I am gutted and cannot afford to pay it.

“My car is everything to me – I am lost without it. I don’t think I will ever see it again."

Mr Ingleby said he would also be charged £12 for every day the car remained in storage, rising to £20 a day after a week.

"The police have been great and have really tried to help me," he added.

“It is so wrong that the victim has to pay, it’s not like I asked for it to be stolen."

A spokeswoman for Durham Police said that the Contract Vehicle Recovery Scheme is a national scheme and that the fees are set by the Government under the Road Traffic Act and the Removal and Disposal of Vehicles regulations.

The fees are paid to the contractors who recover the vehicles.