THE "scandal" of Worcester's empty homes can today be revealed - with a staggering 1,145 private properties sat idle despite a huge council waiting list.

Despite more than 2,400 people being stuck on a Worcester City Council housing register, shock figures have revealed the full tally of private properties being unused, many in squalid condition.

Worcester's frustrated MP has now urged urgent action, saying it is "bringing down neighbourhoods" across the city.

We can reveal:

- Council tax data shows how of the 1,145 empty homes, 192 have been empty for over 12 months while 94 have gone unoccupied for between two and five years

- Some 48 have been left to rot for more than five years, while one notorious vandalised property in Rainbow Hill has sat unused for 13 years

- City MP Robin Walker says the problem has been raised with him by more and more residents and is calling for a powerful new bylaw to launch a crackdown

- The city council says its waiting list for a home stands at 2,460 people, many of them families

Government rules on empty homes make it difficult for councils to take action against landlords who leave homes to rot, unless properties are left unsecure.

They can pursue an Empty Dwelling Management Order (EDMO), but these are expensive to obtain and come with caveats, such as two years passing by first without the property being on the market.

Many landlords take properties on and off the market to prevent action, and even if an order is obtained. they still keep ownership of the asset despite taxpayers' cash being used to get the EDMO.

Mr Walker says the issue was raised with him a lot during May's pre-election canvassing.

"This issue did come up on the doorsteps and my real concern is that it's bringing down neighbourhoods, it's not what we want to see in Worcester," he said.

"We've got to do something and I just wonder whether we could launch a new scheme where we CPO (Compulsory Purchase Order) properties once they've been empty for a certain of time and hand it to a developer, like Fortis Living, to do up and keep.

"Or perhaps a bylaw could be introduced - it would put more pressure on people to look after these houses."

Some of the examples raised with him include one squalid home in Somers Road, Arboretum, another damaged house in Waterworks Road, Barbourne, a tatty property in St Audries Road, Battenhall and an infamous one Mayfield Road, Rainbow Hill which has lay empty 13 years.

Last year squatters broke in and the owner has proved impossible to trace, flummoxing council chiefs.

One neighbour of the Mayfield Road house, who did not wish to be named, said: "It's an absolute scandal - you've got lots of people who need a home and properties like this, filthy and going to waste.

"It's an eyesore, everyone avoids it."

The matter will be raised with the city council's new Labour leadership to see if a new policy can be created.

A spokesman for the city council said its figure of 1,145 empty homes was "correct as of March 1" and taken from council tax data.