Abandoned cars and vehicles
An abandoned vehicle is a vehicle that the owner has left, with no plan of returning to it. It can be any of following:
- burnt out
- poor condition
- vandalised
- left for a long time
How to identify an abandoned vehicle
We receive hundreds of abandoned vehicle reports each year, most of which are not actually abandoned and therefore we cannot take any action against. This diverts our staff away from dealing with other issues in your community.
A vehicle is not classed as 'abandoned' simply because it has been parked in the same place for a few days. If the vehicle is legally parked, taxed and roadworthy, it is unlikely to be abandoned and we will not pursue the owners.
If you know the vehicle owner, our first advice would be to ask them politely to move it. They may not be aware they’re causing a problem.
If you need to report an abandoned vehicle to us, please collect as much information as possible to check if the vehicle is actually abandoned.
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Points to help identify an abandoned vehicle
The following points should help:
- is the vehicle taxed? You can check if a vehicle is taxed on the GOV.UK website.
- are any of the tyres flat?
- are the brake discs rusted?
- is there litter or weeds under the vehicle?
- is the windscreen or any of the windows broken?
- is there any mould on either the inside or outside of the vehicle?
- does the vehicle contain items, such as tyres, old newspapers or general rubbish?
- does the vehicle have number plates?
- has the vehicle been vandalised?