A WARNING over the danger of buying second hand cars that may not be what they appear has been sounded by Cheshire's crime commissioner.

John Dwyer said vehicles written-off in accidents are being repaired and sold again - although the vehicles may not be safe to drive.

"I discovered that many structurally damaged vehicles were being repaired by people who didn’t possess the necessary skills, materials or equipment to carry out these repairs," said Mr Dwyer.

"Currently, there are four categories of vehicle write-offs.

"If a car is classed as a category A or B, it should be crushed, category C and D cars can be repaired and returned to our roads.

"I think that if a car is structurally damaged it should either be a write off or not, but Category B cars can be found on many online auction sites and sold second hand.

"If it is a write off, the car should be crushed so it can never see the light of day.

"If it’s not a write off, it should be repaired by an approved body shop and nowhere else."

Mr Dwyer, who appeared on BBC One show Inside Out: North West on Monday to talk about the issue.

He added: "I urge people to check the history of the cars they are buying.

"In some circumstances sellers are specifying they’re vehicle write offs.

"If you see these markers please ensure they have been appropriately repaired by a qualified body shop."