A heartbroken man has been unable to trace his uncle’s ashes since the car he was storing them in was wrongly seized and sent to auction.

Carl Johnson had been keeping the urn in his Toyota Yaris - but found the vehicle missing from where he parked it.

The 51-year-old CCTV engineer had bought the motor just days earlier with plans to repair it for a family member.

“I was devastated,” he said. “He passed away from an illness and I was very close to him.

Mr Johnson first thought the car had been stolen but, after reporting it to police, was told it had been taken by NSL Clamping on behalf of the DVLA.

However, the car’s confiscation was in error as the untaxed vehicle was on private land.

So to get it back, he needed to travel to Erith where it had been impounded.

“I guess the bottom line is I’m not going to get them back...” Mr Johnson

When he arrived to collect it, however, a neighbouring auction house, John Pye Auctions, was already in possession of it.

Mr Johnson says when he arrived, the ashes were not where he thought he had left them.

He reported the missing items, including some power tools, to the Met Police but the force said it was unable to take any action.

“I just think I’m going to look in that car and the ashes are going to be there,” Mr Johnson added.

“I guess the bottom line is I’m not going to get them back.”

Hartbottle & Lewis, a legal firm working on behalf of NSL said: “NSL followed due process as we always do when removing vehicles.

“This includes taking a photographic record of every vehicle removed to the pound. Our evidence does not support these allegations.”

John Pye and Sons had not commented by the time of going to press.