BAILIFFS who turned up at a house near a military base were greeted by armed police.

Hereford Magistrates heard the debt collectors were sent to the Credenhill property to collect court fines.

Gary Allen, 38, was unaware he had been fined by Leeds Magistrates last August for an offence of using his BMW without tax in Tyne & Wear.

That was until his wife received a letter demanding payment at their property when he was away from home.

Despite making a statutory declaration to the court leading to a further court date being arranged to re-hear the matter, Allen still paid a fixed penalty fine to the DVLA and paid bailiffs at his home.

“Bailiffs turned up at our property and then armed police turned up,” Allen told Hereford magistrates last Friday.

“My reputation has been shot, I paid the bailiffs and they said I could claim it back. I have now overpaid the fine but that doesn’t excuse the fact that I was at fault.”

Magistrates referred the case back to Leeds Magistrates to be considered for withdrawal as they thought it was wrong for him to be punished again for the driving matter.