Police crackdown on abandoned cars

Oct 19 2006 By Mark Cowan, Birmingham Mail

CLAPPED out cars dumped at the side of the road are being targeted in a new move to clean up the streets and slam the brakes on anti-social behaviour.

Evidence shows that abandoned vehicles often become a target for teenage vandals and arsonists.

Now police, firefighters and council chiefs in Birmingham have joined forces to rid the roads of the menace.

Operation Taz was launched at the start of the week in the Hawkesley area of Kings Norton and will move across the city to the worst hit areas.

Regular patrols by police officers will identify vehicles which will be removed. Previous operations have shown significant reductions in vehicle arson.

West Midlands Fire Service watch commander Sean McGrath said: "There are certain areas of the city that have significant numbers of car fires.

"Whilst dealing with these we cannot attend more serious incidents which could have fatal consequences.

"Car fires are dangerous, damage the environment and release a whole range of toxic chemicals into our community, even after the fire has been put out."

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