Britain is becoming a scrapyard for abandoned cars, with the number of vehicles dumped on the road-side increasing six-fold in four years.
One car is removed every 30 minutes by councils – some 31,812 over the last two years, according to newly released figures.
Coventry is identified as the scrapyard capital of Britain. Its local authority has taken 2,321 dumped vehicles off the roadsides.
Dealing with nuisance vehicles comes at a price to the tax payer, as local authorities fork out hundreds of thousands of pounds each year clearing roads and rural areas of abandoned cars
The rising cost of fuel, car insurance and tax is overwhelming some motorists, causing some of them to ditch their vehicles when they breakdown
Some drivers who appeared to have abandoned their vehicles did so for an average of three weeks, suggesting they were waiting until they could afford to move it – but by then it may have been too late
One car is removed every 30 minutes by councils – some 31,812 over the last two years
Comparison website Confused.com, which obtained the figures, claimed the rise in the number of cars ditched by their owners may have been fuelled by the surge in insurance, repair and fuel bills.
As well as being an eye sore for local residents, these nuisance vehicles come at a price to the tax payer, as local authorities fork out hundreds of thousands of pounds each year clearing roads of abandoned cars.
Councils spent £933,379 in 2016 and 2017 alone, but collected just £115,610 in fines from drivers.
Abandoning a vehicle can have its own financial consequences, as one in 15 (7 per cent) drivers who have ditched their car received a fine, costing them £132 on average
Over the two years, councils were also responsible for destroying 20,551 of the seized vehicles, which meant the total bill was significantly higher.
The problem has not gone unnoticed by the public, with 261,724 reports of abandoned vehicles filed in 2016 and 2017.
The figures cover 2016 and up to October 2017.
A total of 18,941 cars were removed in 2016, compared to 2,797 in 2012 – a rise of 577 per cent, Another 12,871 cars were removed in 2017.
Unsurprisingly – given the size of the population – councils in the South East received the highest number of reports and, together, removed the most unwanted vehicles throughout 2016 and 2017.
Local authorities in the region removed a total of 6,264 vehicles, from 61,268 reports, costing them £128,078 in total.
However, the East of England is catching up – its problem is growing at a higher rate than any other region.
The number of these unwanted cars removed by councils in the region in 2016 was 11 times higher than it was in 2012, equivalent to a rise of 1,087 per cent.
According to a poll of 2000 drivers by Confused.com, three in five (60 per cent) say they find them a nuisance and make the streets look run down.
Many abandoned cars end up being an eye sore for local residents
Cars were recently found abandoned in a disused Edinburgh car park that has been closed for 15 years
And it seems drivers are most likely to spot abandoned cars in more rural areas, with almost a quarter (23 per cent) saying they have come across one on the side of a B-road.
The research seems to suggest affordability is very much to blame for drivers abandoning their cars, as almost a quarter (23 per cent) think motoring costs have become unaffordable.
In fact, most drivers who have abandoned their car did so because it had broken down and they were unable to afford to have it towed (30 per cent). But one in 15 (7 per cent) could no longer afford to run their vehicle at all. This could explain why almost one in six (16 per cent) drivers who have abandoned their vehicles did so for an average of three weeks, suggesting they were waiting until they could afford to move it.
Others (6 per cent) were concerned about being fined for driving the car without tax – which could cost them as much as £1,000 or five-times the annual road tax fee.
However, abandoning a vehicle can have its own financial consequences, as one in 15 (7 per cent) drivers who have ditched their car received a fine, costing them £132 on average.
Amanda Stretton, motoring editor at Confused.com, said: ‘The rising cost of fuel, car insurance and tax is overwhelming some motorists, causing some of them to ditch their vehicles when they breakdown.’
j.salmon@dailymail.co.uk