OWNERS of old unwanted cars get rid of them free from Monday as the start of a two week long amnesty is launched.Ipswich Borough Council will lift the current charge of £20 to dispose of an old car and will even come to collect them.

OWNERS of old unwanted cars get rid of them free from Monday as the start of a two week long amnesty is launched.

Ipswich Borough Council will lift the current charge of £20 to dispose of an old car and will even come to collect them.

The campaign runs from January 17-31 and is part of an initiative by Keep Britain Tidy to stop unwanted cars being dumped at the sides of roads and becoming fire hazards.

Glynis Wood, StreetCare customer team leader at the council, said: "While these cars are sitting in people's driveways they can become a temptation to criminals.

"We hope people see this as an opportunity to get rid of their old wrecks and prevent them from becoming hazards."

In the past 12 months reports of abandoned cars in Ipswich have fallen to 1,709, a decrease of 25 per cent.

Out of these, StreetCare staff had 752 taken away.

Also in the last year, Whip Street Motors have reported a 25 pc increase in the number of cars being taken to their Ipswich depot, showing that more people are disposing of their vehicles responsibly.

Councillor Inga Lockington, environment and transport portfolio holder, said: "We are having a lot of success in getting old wrecked cars cleared away but we still need the help of the public and that is why campaigns like this are so important."

It currently costs taxpayers £24 million a year to clear dumped cars from the sides of streets.

Councils in the east of England spend £37,000 a year clearing unwanted cars from the streets and 19 of them are due to take part in the fortnight long campaign.

Alan Woods, Chief Executive of Keep Britain Tidy, said: "We genuinely believe that this campaign will make a huge impact and significantly reduce the amount of dumped cars - which can only mean good news for environments across England."

Anyone in Ipswich who wants to have their car removed simply has to pop into the council offices, in Civic Drive, and hand over the keys and registration documents and they will be taken away within a few days.

n. Do you think the new move will work? Write to Your Letters, Evening Star, 30 Lower Brook Street, Ipswich, IP4 1AN or email eveningstarletters@eveningstar.co.uk.