IN a crack down on abandoned cars, Wiltshire Council has issued six fixed penalty notices to people for dumping their vehicles.

Each notice comes with a £200 fine, which can lead to a prosecution at magistrates court.

A person from Great Bedwyn had a £2,018.26 bill after failing to pay a £200 fine for abandoning their vehicle following a prosecution at Salisbury Magistrates. A resident from Ramsbury also paid a heavy price for ignoring an abandoned notice and a subsequent FPN, which cost the owner £1,692 in court fines and costs.

Bridget Wayman, cabinet member for highways, said, “Abandoned vehicles are not only an environmental hazard, but they are expensive to remove, look unsightly and take up valuable parking spaces. In addition to the environmental problems outlined previously, when a vehicle is dumped, the council must divert critical resources from other services areas to deal with them. We will investigate reports of abandoned vehicles and take formal legal action."

A Tidworth woman has been issued with a £200 fixed penalty notice for abandoning her Honda CRV on the public highway in Tidworth.

The vehicle had no tax, no MOT and the owner failed to comply with the removal notice issued on the vehicle by Environmental Enforcement Officers.