Scrap dealer End of Life Vehicles in Northfleet, Kent, has been taken to task by the advertising watchdog after inferring it was associated with a Government body.

Its advert, headed End Of Life, warned readers that only an Authorised Treatment Facility could legally scrap a vehicle but also included logos of the DVLA, Environment Agency and the Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform.

After a complaint from a customer, the Advertising Standards Authority ruled that the advert did not make clear the true identity of the advertiser, and that consumers were likely to interpret the advert to mean End Of Life Vehicles was associated with, or was, an official government body, so was likely to mislead.

The ASA was aware there is the End Of Life Vehicle Directive, which requires all carmakers to have facilities available for customers to recycle their cars.