A DRIVER was forced to fork out hundreds of pounds to get his OWN car back after it was stolen.

A Black BMW 1 Series was swiped from Ronan Simpson’s driveway in Ulverston on November 30.

The car was found by Cumbria Police on the same day after it had crashed into a wall around three miles in Dalton.

READ MORE: Ulverston teenager paid almost £500 to get his stolen motorbike back

All four tyres had popped and the bodywork was completely crumpled, he said.

Ronan, 25, was called to the scene by police where he said he was told the car would need to be taken away for forensic investigation.

Ronan asked about any fees and he said he was told not to worry about it by the police officer in charge. 

The car was taken to Furness Cars and Commercials for around 12 days for forensics with Ronan calling police every day for updates.

When he got the call to say the car was ready, Ronan was told by Furness Cars that he would have to pay £514 to get it back - and it would go up every 24 hours that it was there. 

His parents went into Barrow police station to discuss the matter where the officer there advised that he should never have been told he had to pay, said Ronan.

He said he was told he could get the money back by contacting the police complaints department.

Ronan said: "I was worried as the money was going up daily and it was causing issues with my insurance.

"I paid it to stop the money going up and also because I believed I could get the money back.

"Afterwards, when I went to the complaints department, they told me I am liable for the fee.

"If I'd have known this, I could have stored the car at a friend's garage - where is it now.

"The setbacks have meant repairs have not been done so I now have a car that is undrivable and the thief has not been found. 

"I'm just at a loss with what to do and I don't think it's very fair that the charge goes up every day - I wasn't to know how long the investigation was going to take either."

Cumbria Police confirmed Ronan was liable for the fees however agreed to refund the charge.

Ronan has confirmed however that the money has not yet been refunded.

A spokesperson for the force said: "I can confirm the complaint into this has been closed and the complainant was updated that there was miscommunication by the officers and that he remains liable to pay for the vehicle recovery.

"However, on this occasion we are looking at making an exception to refund the complainant the fee and will be issuing learning to officers.

"Regarding the investigation into the incident, this is ongoing."

Anyone with any information about the original incident of theft is encouraged to contact Cumbria police.