When the nice boys in blue arrange recovery you pay a statutory charge. If you had contacted the Recovery Contractor yourself the price would probably have been considerably lower.
It is not a statutory charge at all and the police do not see any monies. The police use contractors for just about everything as it is easier for budgetary reasons. People are advised to use their own recovery company in relation to roadside assistance, glaziers for boarding up windows, so on and so forth.
Glad the OP is all right, sounds like too much excitement for me...
