A DAD was left seething after his daughter was forced to abandon her car in the snow and then pay £150 to retrieve it.
Natalie Beresford, 19, was driving home to Great Missenden from Bournemouth University on Monday night and got stuck trying to exit the M40 at the Handy Cross junction.
She said she pulled onto the hard shoulder at around 11.30pm and got out to walk, as did many other drivers on a chaotic night in Buckinghamshire.
After staying the night at a friends house near Wycombe Sports Centre she returned at 8am on Tuesday to find her Citroen hatchback had been towed by the Highways Agency.
She was then shocked when she was charged £150 to recover the car from a compound on Shackleton Road, Cressex.
Her dad Nick, 50, was left fuming: “I just think it's a disgusting – they take any chance they can of grabbing a few quid out of the public.
“It shows the mentality of the people we are paying our taxes to - everyone I tell just can't believe it. She couldn't get up the slip road and many people were in the same situation.”
The Highways Agency said it would review the charge.
A spokesperson said: “We recognise that drivers have experienced severe weather conditions over the last few days and the Highways Agency has been doing everything possible to keep motorways and major roads moving.
“In a very limited number of cases the Highways Agency has had to remove abandoned vehicles from the M40, M4 and A404 to ensure safety.
"However, where it was safe to do so we left the vehicles for as long as possible to give drivers time to retrieve them.”
Yesterday the agency said 15 abandoned cars on major roads around Buckinghamshire had been removed by officers since Monday evening's chaotic rush hour.
Meanwhile, Wycombe District Council said abandoned cars would not get parking fines.
