A DARWEN councillor said he was left scratching his head at a sudden spate of abandoned vans and caravans in the town.

Cllr Dave Smith said he had recently been inundated with complaints about the vehicles being ditched in various parts of Darwen.

He said it was frustrating as it was costly for Blackburn with Darwen Council to remove the vehicles after they had been left if the owners could not be traced.

Cllr Smith said: “If there is no number plates on them and no new owner the council can remove it as fly tipping.

“But this is expensive.

“There are another two or three on car parks in various parts of Darwen.

“You just wonder why people would just dump a vehicle as they are not cheap."

“They must have some value so if someone wants to get rid of a car why not just sell it?”

According to Keep Britain Tidy there are several reasons why vehicles may have been abandoned.

They include: * The high cost of motoring, including charges incurred from speeding fines, parking fines which means abandonment cheaper than paying; * Changes in the value of scrap metal, which mean some registered owners may have to pay for the vehicle’s collection and/or disposal; * The high cost of maintaining and repairing the vehicle when it is old plus an increase in MPT failures; * Vehicles involved in criminal activities are often abandoned once the crime has been committed.

Tony Watson, Blackburn with Darwen Council’s Head of Environment and Public Protection, said: “The Council is looking at taking enforcement action against those people who do not remove an abandoned vehicle, after we have written to them requesting this."

“This costs time and money through the work of our officers arranging removals. Thoughtless people need to be aware of the problems that can be caused by dumping these vehicles in the borough.

“In 2014/15, we wrote to 79 vehicle owners seeking them to move their vehicle, and in 39 of these cases, the Council was forced to step in and have the vehicles removed.”

According to Keep Britain Tidy there are several reasons why vehicles may have been abandoned.

They include: * Changes in the value of scrap metal, which mean some registered owners may have to pay for the vehicle’s collection and/or disposal; * The high cost of motoring, including charges incurred from speeding fines, parking fines which means abandonment cheaper than paying; * The high cost of maintaining and repairing the vehicle when it is old plus an increase in MPT failures; * Vehicles involved in criminal activities are often abandoned once the crime has been committed.