Drivers could be left at risk by car dealers not replacing dangerously and illegally worn or damaged tyres, a report has shown.

Almost three quarters of ‘severely worn’ tyres were not replaced by car dealers when customers took their vehicles in for services during last winter. A new report by autoVHC, a leading provider of automotive aftersales technology for dealers, took data from more than 400 franchised car showrooms and found that last November they flagged up some 29,000 ‘red’ tyres, those with serious defects and illegal tread depth. Yet in 71 per cent of cases the car was returned to the customer on the same tyres and in only 29 per cent did they sell new ones. Its report said that less than 9,000 new tyres were fitted and more than 20,000 tyres officially classed as ‘dangerous’ were still on the car when the owner drove away. The case has caused uproar in the motor industry with experts saying the situation left the drivers and other road users at risk of an incident or of committing an offence.