PAY UP or we will clamp your car - that is the message to fine dodgers in York and North Yorkshire.

People who fail to pay cash penalties imposed by the courts could have their cars clamped and money deducted from their wages or benefits in a new crackdown.

Paul Bradley, North Yorkshire's area director for Her Majesty's Court Service, said courts in the county would not be afraid to use the new powers to recover cash - despite having one of the best fine collection rates in the country.

York and North Yorkshire currently collects 88 per cent of all fines -well above the national average of 83 per cent.

Last year, the rate was more than 100 per cent because officers caught up with a backlog as well as new fines.

Mr Bradley said: "We have appointed a fines officer, who has all the powers under the legislation to make these new orders.

"We have also appointed five staff in local offices with delegated powers, and the new scheme is already in force.

"We are expecting it to result in improved enforcement of outstanding fines. There will be a lot more contact between staff and defectors to make sure they keep their promises."

He said the county's courts had been looking at ways to enforce fines for several years.

He said: "The message is 'make sure you co-operate with fines officers, because there is a wide new range of ways to make sure fines are paid, and they will be used in North Yorkshire'."

Under the new rules, courts also have the power to put dodgers on credit blacklists.

Offenders who genuinely cannot pay can apply to convert fines into unpaid work instead.

The scheme has been piloted over the last two years and proved particularly fruitful in West Yorkshire, where collection rates have risen from 46 per cent to 85 per cent.

Constitutional Affairs Minister Harriet Harman said: "Court-imposed fines are not a soft option but, to ensure they are a credible sentencing option, they need to be enforced. That's what this new scheme does."

She said victims of crime benefited most from the scheme because many fines include an order for compensation.

Magistrates courts now have access to databases, including the Police National Computer, to help track down offenders, while the use of telephone debt chasing has also risen.

Tests are also beginning this month on a new National Enforcement Service, which will eventually chase and collect fines.

Updated: 10:41 Thursday, April 20, 2006