Victims of car theft and crashes had to pay a total of £175,000 in "administration fees" to Merseyside Police to get their vehicles back over the past year.

Figures released under the Freedom of Information Act show the force recovered 11,582 vehicles last year, including cars that had been stolen, illegally parked or involved in a crash.

But the government allows police forces to charge car owners a fee for recovering their vehicles, which can range between £150 and £300 depending on where the car is and how badly damaged it is.

The police can also charge £20 per day for storing the car, including when it needs to be examined by forensics officers.

These fees apply even if the car has been stolen, with victims of crime given just 30 minutes to come and get their vehicle before the police remove it themselves and charge the fee.

The charges are meant to help the police cover the cost of hiring a recovery company to come and take the vehicle to a garage, and the force does not make a profit from the fees.

A spokesperson for Merseyside Police said: "Police forces across the country have an obligation to remove vehicles that are dangerously, obstructively or illegally parked, or involved in a road traffic collision, or broken down, or abandoned, including vehicles abandoned after being stolen. Such removals incur charges which are set nationally by the government.

"Vehicle recovery charges cover the costs of the recovery company, the garage for vehicles to be stored safely and securely and staffing costs to police.

"Merseyside Police do not make any profit whatsoever from these charges."

Some insurance policies will cover these administration fees, but many drivers may choose not to claim as they may not receive much of a payout once their excess is taken into account.

It is also unlikely that the car thieves will ever be caught, with just 5% of car thefts in Merseyside resulting in a prosecution.

The latest Home Office figures, which cover 2019/20, show that while there were 2,878 reports of cars being stolen in Merseyside that year, only 134 resulted in someone appearing in court.

In the vast majority of cases, some 2,202 incidents, the investigation was dropped with no suspect being identified, while another 416 were dropped because of difficulties with evidence.

A police spokesperson said: "We have seen significant year-on-year decreases in vehicle crime and burglary in Merseyside and continue to work to tackle this type of crime across our communities.

"As well as working with partner agencies to tackle vehicle crime – for example improving street lighting, we regularly carry out roads policing operations, whereby we stop cars and check ownership details. Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) is also employed to help officers to detect, deter and disrupt this type of criminality.

"Our neighbourhood teams are also continually working to ensure that safety messages are being reinforced with residents. This type of crime is often committed by opportunistic thieves and simple steps such as locking your car, parking in a well-lit area and making sure keys are kept secure and away from letter boxes can help reduce the risk of being targeted.

"We would urge people to be vigilant and report any suspicious activity in your area to police as where we have information, rest assured, we will take action."