AN ANGRY York victim of crime fears she could end up in court because she claims a police officer failed to warn her about recovery charges that are higher than the cost of her vehicle.

Lorraine Eadie, 40, of Elmfield Avenue, York, is refusing to pay a £105 recovery charge after her ageing Nissan Micra was taken away by the police for forensic examination.

It had been broken into by thieves, who searched boxes in the boot while it was parked in Hallfield Road, Layerthorpe, York.

Ms Eadie claims an officer did not tell her of the costs, which add up to more than she paid for the car, and if they had she would have asked a friend to scrap it for free.

She fears the recovery firm employed by the police may try to get back the cost, plus £12-a-day storage fees and an extra £35 scrapping charge, by taking her to court, even though she is happy to dump the car.

She said: "I could not claim on my insurance as the car wasn't even worth that, and why on earth do I have to have to pay for a car to be tested for fingerprints?

"This was not explained at all by the police officer. If it had, I would have simply telephoned a friend who is a car dealer, who would have just taken it away and scrapped it for me."

Ms Eadie discovered thieves had smashed the rear windscreen of her car with bricks when she returned from working at a department store in the city on Sunday, March 14. A police officer came to the scene and told her the car should be removed for fingerprinting.

Later that evening she was telephoned at home and told she faced paying at least £105, plus VAT, to get the car back.

Tony Lidgate, a spokesman for North Yorkshire Police, said it would not be appropriate to comment on Ms Eadie's complaint until it had been investigated by a senior officer.

In the past, North Yorkshire Police has said vehicles left in the road after accidents, breakdowns or as a result of a crime must be dealt with for the safety of the public.

Trained recovery workers using specialist equipment were employed to preserve forensic evidence as the force no longer had the facilities or expertise to deal with vehicles.

The contractor's working practices and fees follow national guidelines and the public wanted to see police funds spent on fighting crime, not recovering cars, Mr Lidgate added.

Updated: 09:53 Monday, March 22, 2004