Motorists no longer need to display proof of payment of car tax on windscreens but many have been slow to ditch the disc, with 22% of north-east drivers having done so, according to an new AA/Populus survey.

The emergence of electronic checks led to the scrapping of the vehicle excise duty car tax disc last October.

But a poll of 19,887 AA members showed only 20% had removed the disc, with 43% leaving it as a reminder when the tax was due.

Younger drivers aged 18 to 24 (26%) were most likely to have ditched the paper disc, while 22% of drivers in north-east England, but only 15% in London, have got rid of it.

Women (45%) and older drivers aged 65 and over (45%) were most likely to have kept it in place as a reminder, while 18% had simply forgotten to remove it.

As many as 8% had not removed it because the car would “look odd” without it, with Londoners most likely to think this.

AA president Edmund King said: “The tax disc may have been scrapped four months ago but it seems to be stuck in our motoring conscience.”