KEIGHLEY is becoming a "scrapyard" for abandoned vehicles, it's claimed.

Anger has been voiced at the number of vehicles, often uninsured and untaxed, being left for months on the area's streets.

Calls are being made for Bradford Council to do more to tackle the problem.

Keighley town councillor Andrea Walker says a car, reported as abandoned, has been parked close to her home in Bar Lane, Riddlesden, for around three months.

"It's causing parking problems in what is a very busy street but is also posing safety issues because other vehicles are having to pull out because of it," she says.

"I would like to see Bradford Council speed up the process for removing abandoned cars."

Keighley MP Robbie Moore says he has been "inundated" with reports of vehicles being abandoned, and has hosted a parliamentary debate on the issue.

During the debate, he accused council leaders of failing to enforce existing laws to get offending motors shifted.

'Hotspots' highlighted by him include Ferncliffe Drive at Utley, where he says the day-to-day functions of some businesses are being affected.

Mr Moore says laws are in place giving powers to local councils to act on abandoned vehicles, with the offence punishable by a fine of up to £2,500 and/or three months in prison. Councils can also issue an immediate fixed penalty notice to the vehicle owner.

Where a vehicle is abandoned on a public road and the council can't determine ownership, the local authority may give seven days’ notice before removing it.

Speaking after the debate, Mr Moore said: "Despite having the power to do so, Bradford Council is failing to act to remove abandoned vehicles from our streets. The council seems determined to ignore the powers which are already awarded to it. It's incredibly frustrating to see our district become a scrapyard for vehicles that are unroadworthy, untaxed, uninsured and often without number plates."

But Bradford Council says it is taking action, and is calling for the Government to do more.

A spokesperson says: "All vehicles reported to us are subject to thorough investigation between ourselves and the police, and we remove any deemed abandoned from the highway and from council-owned land. What would really make a difference in tackling this is action from the Government. Firstly we need national legislation to be toughened up so we can take action against businesses storing vehicles on the highway. Secondly, councils need to be able to claim more than £200 from the owner of an abandoned vehicle that we remove – our costs far exceed this. And thirdly, there is an excessive delay when we report vehicles to the DVLA. We were pleased to see in the MP’s speech to Parliament that he acknowledged this and asked the minister to bring in tougher measures nationally."