I too have had experiences of a preserved Routemaster operating in my area but I did find out who the owner was and the number of the bus so I made contact and threatened to report him - unfortunately this has not stopped him.

Personally I welcome any competition providing we are all playing on a level playing field - those operating illegally are not fair competition.

I have a very good friend who is a police sergeant working for Cheshire Police traffic division and he has told me that they generally do not get involved in stopping such vehicles as they cannot tell what type of insurance or tax a vehicle has with their ANPR equipment. Apparently all this does is check if the vehicle is taxed and insured, it doesn't give them specific details of what type of insurance or tax a vehicle has, so the chances of an illegal operator getting pulled by the Police is very slim.

VOSA did have an on-line form to fill in where you could report rogue operators, but since they merged and became DVSA this facility seems to have been removed from their new website.

My friendly Police Officer has now put a mark on the vehicle in question so the next time its picked up by a Police ANPR camera it will get stopped, hopefully this will happen when it's full of passengers going to a Wedding!!

So my advice to fellow operators is find out the bus registration number, phone the non-emergency Police number on 101 and ask to talk to your local traffic division and report them.

David

My bus number (if any): RM's 446, 548, 765 and 1783

The way it should be done. Presumably historics are then auctioned off?

The times I have been approached when out with my RT or RM and asked if I'd do a wedding or party. Of course I decline, but then have to spend the next 10 minutes explaining why I cannot do it. Easy to see why some unscrupulous private owners just 'go for it'.

Can the police also stop the idiot cyclists who ride on the footpath and are a danger to pedestrians? I'd imagine a pile of bikes going through the crusher would sound good too.

John.

My bus number (if any): RaTtletrap RT

I haven't hears of any historic buses being seized yet, but I know of a few where the owners have had the VOSA warning letters.

My bus number (if any): RML2532

'Proceeds of Crime auction' is what they are called, you can get some great bargins at them if you are looking for a sporty car or high end goods!

But the seizing authority have to apply to a court to sell the goods at Proceeds of Crime hearing first, or will be disposed of.

The only issue is the ones that are openly advertised tend to be in Scotland. Then when they are advertised they are usually at short notice and you have to go to the auction house on the day to find out what is up for grabs because if they displayed what was up on the internet it is likely criminals will break in to steal their goods back.

As for the smaller lower value goods they tend to end up on Ebay under the police forces account!

All the money raised goes to the treasury but the seizing authority can put a claim in for the money to make use off but most police forces then redistribute it to local charities related to cutting crime or keeping kids busy and out of trouble.

My bus number (if any): RMF2771