More than 30 abandoned vehicles seized in crackdown

A council said it has seized and removed more than 30 vehicles as part of a crackdown on abandoned and unlicensed automobiles.

Labour-run Luton Council has invested an additional £2m into street cleansing, fly-tipping, deep cleans and parking enforcement.

It has also hired 65 extra front-line staff to tackle the problems after Labour leader Tahmina Saleem, who was appointed in May, said: "Parts of the town had become unsafe and anti-social as people were parking on pavements."

Andrew Antoine, a neighbourhood enforcement officer, said: "There are other offences associated with abandoned vehicles including sex crimes, drug paraphernalia and stolen vehicles."

The crackdown is part of the council's Getting It Done campaign that Saleem has set out as one of her priorities since taking over from long-serving Hazel Simmons.

Antoine, who has been part of the enforcement team for three years, said: "It's a major problem in Luton and we're trying to do the best we can. We've got a small team so can't cover the whole of Luton, but can cover it to the best of our ability."

He added: "Some people are stealing cars for parts, so they strip them and leave them on the side of the road.

"It's primarily a project based on antisocial behaviour that has been reported to us through residents where vehicles are parked in resident bays.

"A lot of the bays the residents have actually paid for, so it's not fair to them."

One of those residents is Destiny Carriere,who has lived in one of the streets the enforcement team is targeting for 25 years.

On the day she spoke to the BBC, the team removed three vehicles from near her home, including an old ambulance that another resident said had been left outside for at least six months.

She said: "Over the years it's definitely gotten worse and this impacts me with me recently learning how to drive and not being able to put it [my car] anywhere and having to park sometimes on other streets nowhere near where my address is so I can't even look after my own car because it's nowhere in my eyesight.

"They're normally left here abandoned, getting mouldy, broken into, all sorts, which is very inconvenient for the rest of us."

She added: "For people to come and actually do something about it makes a big difference for the community."

Andy Lovesey is a member of the enforcement team and said the seized vehicles: "Go to an impound where they'll be, for the next seven days, under DVLA powers."

"If no-one claims the vehicles, then they will be passed back to us and we'll make a decision on how we want to deal with them and whether we auction or destroy them."

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