New powers to tackle uninsured drivers will come into force within months.

It will be an offence to keep an uninsured vehicle, rather than just to drive when uninsured.

Ministers say the move is aimed at reducing the number of uninsured drivers which cost the insured motorists £30 on their premiums each year.

The BD3 postcode in the city, which includes Barkerend, Bradford Moor and Thornbury, are national hotspots for uninsured drivers. The BD8 area of Girlington, Manningham and Lower Grange is also in the top ten worst areas in the country.

Under the plans, the DVLA and the Motor Insurers’ Bureau will identify uninsured vehicles, and motorists will receive a letter warning them of action. If no insurance is taken they will be ordered to pay a £100 fine and if no policy is purchased the car will be destroyed even if the fine has been paid.

Vehicles with a Statutory Off Road Notice (SORN) will not need insurance.

Keighley Conservative MP Kris Hopkins, a former leader of Bradford Council which has financially supported police operations to catch uninsured drivers, said: “This is a welcome measure in the battle to remove uninsured drivers from our streets.

“The local police have been particularly strong in cracking down on this scourge, and deserve great credit for their efforts.”

Bradford East Liberal Democrats MP David Ward said: “I think it has got to the stage something has to be done about it but the real need is for the detection and prosecution of those on the road without insurance.

“We have the ring of steel in Bradford which can log every number plate and I think that will be better at detecting offences.

“We must focus on those uninsured drivers on the roads as that is continuously being flouted and it makes it uncertain for other drivers if there is an accident as there is no recourse.”

But Bradford West MP Marsha Singh said the new measures might not tackle the blight of uninsured drivers across the district.

He said: “My fear is this will affect law-abiding citizens rather than uninsured drivers who flout the law.”

Bradford saw the biggest hike in car insurance premiums in the country in 2010, with prices rising by almost 60 per cent, according to comparison website Confused.com.

The Government says police seize 400 vehicles every day but new measures were needed.

Road Safety Minister Mike Penning said: “It is simply not possible to catch every uninsured driver in this way.”