Have you got an old banger you need to get rid of?
Well, thanks to a new drive organised by Keep Britain Tidy, you
can now get it towed away for FREE.
For the next fortnight, clapped-out cars will be shifted from
your doorstep without charge by 189 councils (see list below)
– and it’s all in an effort to stop wrecks being dumped
on the streets and in the countryside.
“Apart from costing taxpayers £24 MILLION a year to
move, any old motor left lying around is likely to be vandalised
or torched,” said Alan Woods, Chief Executive of Keep Britain
Tidy. “We’ve even had cases where they’ve been
used for drug dealing and prostitution. We already have 1.5 million
cases of criminal damage against cars each year and over one million
fires and false alarms – and for every second a vehicle is
lingering on our streets, those figures will spiral.”
And since the problem is so grave, Keep Britain Tidy has decided
to use a poster featuring a funeral to publicise the new take-away
service. Brandishing the slogan, “Rust In Peace”, the
macabre visual – coming soon to garages and MOT centres -
has a couple blubbing over the bonnet of their clapped-out car.
The two-week amnesty was set-up after research showed that some
councils were spending over £80,000 a year shifting abandoned
motors. Because around half didn’t collect wrecks from homes,
much of this expense (particularly in rural areas) came from having
to travel to remote parts to pick up dumped cars.
The fact that some councils charged up to £67 to tow away
an old banger also meant some owners abandoned them; and while
69% of councils had worked with the Police and the DVLA to collar
offenders - others let them get away scot-free.
“The situation at the moment just isn’t acceptable”
continued Alan Woods. “Over half a million people complained
about dumped cars in 2003 and the amount of vehicle fires has
risen by 48% in the last six years. Frankly, we need to get them
shifted – and shifted quick.
So if you’ve got a car that’s reached the end of the
road, get on the blower now and get the council to remove it,
free. Don’t allow your old motor to become a magnet for crime
- instead join us as we sound the death knell on the problem of
abandoned cars and squalid local environments.”
Absorb these shocking statistics…
• According to a Keep Britain Tidy survey into drugs-litter,
22% of councils found discarded needles inside abandoned vehicles.
• The number of motor vehicles in Britain has risen from
25 million in 1992, to 31 million today.
• Arson is the biggest cause of major fires in the UK and
costs £2.2 BILLION per annum. Around 80% of vehicle fires
last year were started deliberately.
• 814 arsonists were found guilty at Magistrates Courts
during 2002/3. Thirty-two per cent of these offenders, were under
15 years of age.
• When quizzed by Keep Britain Tidy, 23% of English councils
revealed that they had received over 2000 complaints last year
about abandoned vehicles.
• The same survey showed that 30% of respondents had attempted
to prosecute between 101-500 owners for abandoning their cars
last year.
• In 2002/3, there were over 2.5 million reported incidents
of criminal damage. More than half of these were against vehicles.
• London Boroughs deal with 37% of the nation’s abandoned
vehicles with 110,000 clapped-out motors shifted from the capital’s
roads last year.
• According to the London Fire and Emergency Planning Authority,
vehicle fires in the Smoke cost over £110 million in the
last two years.
• In Milton Keynes, a partnership between the council, fire
service and police to remove abandoned vehicles and track down
owners halved the number of complaints about dumped cars last
year.
• While only 43% of councils said they shifted abandoned
cars within five days, all respondents to the Keep Britain Tidy
survey promised to remove them within a month.
Towing the line – a list of councils taking part in our
drive
East of England
Basildon District Council
Bedford Borough Council
Cambridge City Council
East Hertfordshire Council
Epping Forest District Council
Forest Heath District Council
Great Yarmouth Borough Council
Harlow Borough Council
Ipswich Borough Council
King’s Lynn and West Norfolk Borough Council
Luton Borough Council
Mid Suffolk District Council
North Hertfordshire District Council
South Bedfordshire District Council
Three Rivers District Council
Thurrock Borough Council
Uttlesford District Council
Watford Borough Council
Waveney District Council
East Midlands
Ashfield District Council
Blaby District Council
Bolsover District Council
Broxtowe Borough Council
Corby Borough Council
Daventry District Council
Derby City Council
Derbyshire Dales District Council
East Northamptonshire District Council
Gedling Borough Council
Harborough District Council
High Peak Borough Council
Leicester City Council
Lincoln City Council
North East Derbyshire District Council
North Kesteven District Council
North West Leicestershire District Council
Northampton Borough Council
Nottingham City Council
South Derbyshire District Council
South Kesteven District Council
Wellingborough Borough Council
London
Barking and Dagenham London Borough Council
Barnet London Borough Council
Bexley London Borough Council
Brent London Borough Council
Bromley London Borough Council
Camden London Borough Council
Corporation of London
Croydon London Borough Council
Ealing London Borough Council
Enfield London Borough Council
Greenwich London Borough Council
Hackney London Borough Council
Hammersmith and Fulham London Borough Council
Haringey London Borough Council
Harrow Borough Council
Havering London Borough Council
Hillingdon London Borough Council
Hounslow London Borough Council
Islington London Borough Council
Kensington and Chelsea London Borough Council
Kingston upon Thames Borough Council
Lambeth London Borough Council
Lewisham London Borough Council
Merton London Borough Council
Newham London Borough Council
Redbridge London Borough Council
Richmond London Borough Council
Southwark London Borough Council
Sutton London Borough Council
Tower Hamlets London Borough Council
Waltham Forest London Borough Council
Wandsworth London Borough Council
Westminster London Borough Council
North East
Berwick-upon-Tweed Borough Council
Castle Morpeth Borough Council
Darlington Borough Council
Easington District Council
Gateshead Council
Hartlepool Borough Council
Middlesbrough Council
Newcastle Upon Tyne City Council
Northumberland County Council
Redcar and Cleveland BC
Sedgefield Borough Council
South Tyneside Council
Stockton-on-Tees Borough Council
Teesdale District Council
Wear Valley District Council
North West
Blackburn with Darwen Borough Council
Blackpool Borough Council
Burnley Borough Council
Bury Metropolitan Borough Council
Carlisle City Council
Chorley Borough Council
Congleton Borough Council
Macclesfield Borough Council
Manchester City Council
Oldham Metropolitan Borough Council
Pendle Borough Council
Salford City Council
South Lakeland District Council
South Ribble Borough Council
Stockport Metropolitan Borough Council
Tameside Metropolitan Borough Council
Vale Royal Borough Council
West Lancashire District Council
Wirral Metropolitan Borough Council
Wyre Borough Council
South East
Arun District Council
Ashford Borough Council
Aylesbury Vale District Council
Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council
Canterbury City Council
Cherwell District Council
Crawley Borough Council
East Hampshire District Council
Eastbourne Borough Council
Eastleigh Borough Council
Elmbridge Borough Council
Fareham Borough Council
Gosport Borough Council
Guildford Borough Council
Hart District Council
Havant Borough Council
Lewes District Council
Maidstone Borough Council
Medway Council
Milton Keynes Council
Mole Valley District Council
New Forest District Council
Oxford City Council
Portsmouth City Council
Reading Borough Council
Runnymede Borough Council
Rushmoor Borough Council
South Oxfordshire District Council
Southampton City Council
Swale Borough Council
Tandridge District Council
Test Valley Borough Council
Tunbridge Wells Borough Council
Vale of White Horse District Council
Waverley Borough Council
Wealden District Council
West Berkshire Council
Windsor and Maidenhead Borough Council
Winchester City Council
Wokingham Council
Wycombe District Council
South West
Bath & North East Somerset
Bournemouth Council
Bristol City Council
Cheltenham Borough Council
Cotswold District Council
Forest of Dean District Council
Gloucester City Council
Kerrier District Council
Mendip District Council
Plymouth City Council
Purbeck District Council
Restormel Borough Council
Sedgemoor District Council
Stroud Ditsrict Council
All councils within Gloucestershire
Swindon Borough Council
Tewkesbury Borough Council
Torridge District Council
West Dorset District Council
West Midlands
Birmingham City Council
Bromsgrove District Council
Cannock Chase District Council
Coventry City Council
Dudley Metropolitan Borough Council
East Staffordshire Borough Council
Herefordshire Council
Newcastle-under-Lyme Borough Council
North Warwickshire Borough Council
Redditch Borough Council
Sandwell Metropolitan Borough Council
Telford and Wrekin
Walsall Metropolitan Borough Council
Warwick District Council
Wolverhampton City Council
Yorkshire & Humber
Barnsley Metropolitan Borough Council
Boston Borough Council
Bradford City Council
Doncaster Metropolitan Borough Council
Hull City Council
Leeds City Council
North East Lincolnshire Council
Rotherham Metropolitan Borough Council
Scarborough Borough Council
Selby District Council
Wakefield City Council
The
Keep Britain Tidy campaign has kicked of 2005 with a new campaign
to have bangers towed away for free. So if you've got a project
car sitting around somewhere, keep an eye on it... This press release
dated 17 January 2005