MAJOR inroads have been made into driving abandoned cars off streets across Eastleigh, council chiefs have claimed.

The problem of dumped old bangers was accelerating so fast that it was in danger of reaching epidemic proportions.

At one time the council had to deal with up to 1,000 abandoned cars in one year.

But civic chiefs say there has been a dramatic drop.

There has been a significant drop in the number of cars reported abandoned, with just 279 vehicles reported since the beginning of the year.

Of these 78 were consigned to the scrap heap. The remainder were recovered or removed by their owners.

Eastleigh Council works closely with the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Authority, which has a direct link to computer records.

New regulations over registration documents and increases in the value of scrapped cars have also helped to crack down on the abandoned car problem.

An Eastleigh Council spokesman said that if an abandoned car was considered to be dangerous - either burnt out or badly damaged in an accident - it was removed within 24 hours.

If there was a low value to it then seven days' notice was given for it to be recovered or if it was a higher value then there was a 14-day notice period.

Meanwhile Chris Watt, Labour's prospective parliamentary candidate for Eastleigh, is calling for councils like Eastleigh to be given power to take abandoned cars off the road quickly.

He wants Whitehall to give powers to the council so that local officers can remove an abandoned car quickly before it becomes a wreck.

He said: "Cars are a vital part of modern life, whether used for travelling to work or visiting friends and family.

"Yet while cars can help make our lives easier, abandoned cars are a real nuisance in neighbourhoods around Eastleigh.

"The truth is abandoned vehicles pose a threat to public health and safety. Children can be hurt while using them as a playground.

"They are also unsightly and unpleasant and attract vandalism, graffiti and even arson."