A PENSIONER from Worcester was among thousands across the country being driven mad by being unable to renew their vehicle tax today – the day new rules abolishing tax discs came into force.

Changes to vehicle excise duty – colloquially known as car tax – which came in force today mean owners no longer have to display a tax disc in the windscreen.

But drivers up and down the country have reported they have been unable to renew their tax on the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) website or get through to the organisation on the phone.

Keith Turner of Infirmary Walk, Worcester, was caught in the chaos when he tried to renew the tax for his Jaguar X-type online this morning.

“I tried to do it online from about eight o’clock and every time I tried to put my details in it said the site was unavailable,” he said.

“It said to phone the 0300 line which I did but there was a recorded message saying to try later or go to the post office.

“But the whole idea of doing it online is so you don’t have to stand in a queue for 30 minutes.

“I’m in no rush because I hardly use the car but I still need to do it because you never know when you might need it.”

The retired 72-year-old said he found it hard to believe the DVLA had not prepared its systems for this week’s changeover.

“People are confused anyway with the new system but this doesn’t help,” he said.

“It just seems so silly to do it today when so many people renew their tax at the start of the month."

The AA, which earlier this year warned the DVLA’s systems were “no longer fit for purpose”, said this morning several of its members had said they were unable to access the website.

The organisation’s president Edmund King said: “It's a bit ironic in this digital age that the site goes down on the first day of the electronic system coming into being.

"I think that not only a lot of people have tried to get on to the site to renew their car tax but also a number have tried to access the site to find out how the changes to the car tax system affect them."

Earlier today a DVLA spokeswoman said: "The system has not crashed - it's just slow at the moment. We are advising people to keep trying."

A statement issued by the organisation said more than 270,000 people had successfully renewed their car tax – officially known as vehicle excise duty – online yesterday, more than 30,000 more than on the same day last year.

"We are currently experiencing unprecedented demand which means that some customers may be experiencing slow response times or having difficulty accessing the service,” it said.

"We are of course very sorry for any inconvenience and we are urgently investigating to improve service quality for the minority of our customers that are experiencing issues."