South London borough takes top spot as abandoned car capital of UK
A South London borough has taken the top spot as the abandoned car capital of the UK, new data has revealed.
Vehicle scrapping company Scrap Car Comparison submitted Freedom of Information requests to 84 councils in the UK to find out the number of abandoned cars reported to each council between September 2022 and September 2023.
Of the councils contacted, 70 responded with data, revealing Bromley as the ditched car capital of the UK, with 2,239 abandoned car sightings across the year.
This compares to a nationwide total of 53,794 abandoned car reports logged since the start of September 2022, with 27,000 reports in London.
Figures show Enfield is the second worst-affected borough in the UK, recording 1,998 dumped cars whilst Camden and Islington only reported 152 and 32 sightings respectively.
A spokesman from Scrap Car Comparison said: “As one of the largest London boroughs, with a population of more than 334,000, Bromley has a high likelihood for cars to be ditched by previous owners or joyriders.”
It is against the law to abandon a vehicle. If caught, the offender can be prosecuted, given a £2,500 fine and face the potential of a three-month prison sentence.
David Kottaun, operations manager at Scrap Car Comparison, said: “Abandoned vehicles can create problems for access if the car is blocking an entrance, path or road, as well as risking harming the environment they are abandoned in due to leaks of hazardous fluids.”
Bromley Councillor Will Rowlands said: “A big thank you to residents and concerned motorists who have taken the time to report suspected abandoned vehicles to us. In the 12 months to August 23, there were actually only 94 vehicles confirmed abandoned vehicles, which were all removed from the borough’s streets.
“The number of reports is dramatically inflated by duplicate reports and includes suspected abandoned vehicles where in reality, once investigated, it becomes apparent the vehicle had been parked for a long period, causing people to suspect it had been abandoned.”
(Picture: Vladyslav Huivyk/Pexels)
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