ABANDONED cars are putting lives at risk on a York estate, it was claimed today.

Vehicles dumped on roadsides and in fields around Clifton are an "open invitation" to yobs who vandalise and frequently torch them.

But action is being taken both locally and nationally to tackle what is an escalating problem.

Residents, City of York Council chiefs and York MP Hugh Bayley were today meeting to discuss how to tackle the nuisance of abandoned vehicles in Clifton.

Despite its falling crime rates, the area is still dogged by stolen cars being dumped and often vandalised and set alight in the Backies.

It was hoped that today's meeting would be the first step in addressing a problem which is both an eyesore and a potential hazard.

Clifton Residents' Association chairman Doug Cook said cars were being dumped on the estate on a weekly and sometimes daily basis.

He said the abandoned cars were a honeypot for nuisance youths and were sometimes set on fire.

Some were not moved by the council for weeks, he claimed.

"There is a threat to the health and safety of residents, as some of the cars are left with their petrol caps off with petrol still in the tanks," Mr Cook said.

He said he would now like to see US-style car pounds, to which abandoned cars could be removed immediately.

Mr Bayley, who joined residents today for a walkabout in Clifton to look at the scale of the problem, raised the issue with the Home Office and the Driving and Vehicle Licensing Agency last year.

He was told that the Local Government Association was looking at how to deal with the problem nationally.

Standing next to a dumped car with broken windows in Crombie Avenue, Mr Bayley said: "This is a big problem locally and nationally, and more needs to be done to remove abandoned cars. I am talking to people here in York and I'll present their views to the national task force."

Stewart Grieve, City of York Council's cleansing services manager, said the authority was struggling to deal with the sheer numbers of dumped cars that had to be moved.

Updated: 12:32 Saturday, April 21, 2001