Cost of wrecks

4:30pm Thursday 7th August 2008

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Councils are having to deal with more than 3,000 abandoned and suspicious cars a year in Oxfordshire.

The figure emerged in an investigation of how many times the county's local authorities use DVLA records to track down car owners who have dumped their vehicles or have been spotted fly-tipping.

The county's councils are legally required to investigate vehicles dumped on public roads or spotted without road tax or statutory off-road notifications.

From April 2007 to March 2008, a total of 3,090 investigations were carried out, costing more than £150,000.

Now council leaders are urging motorists to dispose of their vehicles safely and legally.

In Oxford, the city council carried 1,500 investigations into abandoned vehicles, almost half the total number across the county. The bill comes to an estimated £45,000 in staff and overheads.

When councils are notified of a suspect abandoned vehicle, officers use the DVLA database to contact the owner. If the vehicle is on a public road, they have seven days to remove it. If the car is on private land, 18 days.

In Cherwell last year, there were 767 investigations into abandoned vehicles and nuisance vehicles, defined as vehicles sold or under repair on highways. The clear-up budgeted for next year is £60,000.

George Reynolds, cabinet member for community health and environment, said the DVLA database was a vital tool in the war on abandoned vehicles. He added: "Clearly abandoned vehicles are a nuisance and it would save taxpayers an awful lot of money if we didn't have to pick them up.

"It's one of the worst kinds of littering. It's a waste of taxpayers' money."

West Oxfordshire District Council carried out 304 investigations last year - costing an estimated £9,000.

David Harvey, cabinet member for environment, said he was surprised so many cars had been abandoned given the current high price of scrap metal. But he said the recent downturn in the economy had left many motorists unable to afford car insurance, road tax and rising petrol prices.

He added: "People would be stupid to abandon vehicles when they could get money for scrapping them."

In the Vale of White Horse district, the council undertook 300 investigations, costing an estimated £10,000, while in South Oxfordshire District Council officers carried out 219 investigations, costing an estimated £7,400.

Of the 3,090 investigations last year, 655 resulted in councils towing vehicles away - not including those in the Vale district.

The operation cost Oxfordshire County Council £28,000.

Not all the figures on fly-tipping and other investigations were available. However, Cherwell said it had contacted the DVLA 233 times to trace the records of vehicles for fly-tipping and rogue trader investigations and the Vale 45.

There were 50 fly-tipping cases in the city checked with the DVLA, but Oxford asks the police to do the investigations.