IT IS not our mess!That was the message from Ipswich Borough Council today after we ran a story on waste in Bobbits Lane on the outskirts of town.Having seen the mess, The Evening Star reported the matter to the Environment Agency in Peterborough who informed us they would be contacting Ipswich council – but the site of the land just falls under the control of Babergh District Council.

IT IS not our mess!

That was the message from Ipswich Borough Council today after we ran a story on waste in Bobbits Lane on the outskirts of town.

Having seen the mess, The Evening Star reported the matter to the Environment Agency in Peterborough who informed us they would be contacting Ipswich council – but the site of the land just falls under the control of Babergh District Council.

Ipswich said their voluntary surrender scheme had been a big success with a total of 2,200 tickets issued on what appeared to be abandoned cars last year.

Of this figure, 1,132 cars were taken away and crushed, but encouragingly, more than 1,000 were actually reclaimed by their owners.

Ipswich council said that once an abandoned car is reported, the owner has seven days to remove it. They also stated that when a call is made to their emergency hotline, a ticket is placed upon the offending vehicle within 24 hours.

Ipswich council also started a voluntary surrender scheme in April where car owners could pay a fixed £20 fee to have their car removed and so far this year, 150 people have used this service

Ipswich council spokesman Max Stocker said this proved without a doubt the hotline was working.

He said: "We have received and actioned over 4,000 reports via the hotline since its commencement in July 2001. This equates to approximately 75 enquiries per week and we have been pleased with the response.

"People should call out hotline in the first instance and let us do the rest."