CHEAPSKATES looking for bargain bangers are believed to be the driving force behind an increase in dumped cars.

The number of old rusting cars being discarded has almost trebled in the last three years, Worcester City Council claims.

Abandoned cars are causing a headache for council staff who say that scrap car compounds are often bursting at the brim.

And a recent decline in the scrap metal market has also helped fuel the outbreak.

"It is indeed a problem," said Allan Laidler, abandoned vehicles officer at Worcester City Council.

"I think most of them are abandoned by the owners".

Mr Laidler said that he could only speculate about what had caused the large increase in abandoned vehicles.

He said he believed that old vehicles were often bought for 'next to nothing' then dumped when the MoT or tax expires.

"One of the main problems is the price of scrap metal," said Mr Laidler, who has worked as abandoned vehicles officer for around three years.

"A couple of years ago a contractor would often pay you £20 to take a vehicle away for scrap metal."

"Now you have to pay a contractor around £35 to have it removed due to the scrap metal market collapsing.

"Even so, some contractors have compounds that cannot take any more vehicles."

Mr Laidler said that 255 abandoned vehicles were reported to the council from April 1988 to March 1989.

He said that the number rose to 450 the following year, and the latest figures revealed that 655 vehicles had been dumped during the last tax year.

Mr Laidler warned that cheap car buyers were not registering their ownership with the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency, leaving the council unable to track the owners down.

He said that people often believed abandoned vehicles were a police concern, but said it was the city council's responsibility.

"We employ a contractor to remove them," added Mr Laidler. "But if anybody wants to get rid of an old vehicle we can recommend a contractor to remove it for about £25."