Motorists wanted to sell their vehicles are turning a grass verge in York into a makeshift "car showroom", according to a city councillor.

Residents of Rawcliffe are furious that vehicles are being left on what is City of York Council land, situated between Shipton Road and Loweswater Road.

Signs behind the windscreens of the cars advertise the price and give a telephone number to call.

The numbers to call are often different, suggesting that a number of people are leaving their cars on the verge.

Coun Mark Waudby, a city councillor for the Rawcliffe ward, told the Evening Press that people living in the area are ready to do something about the problem themselves.

He said: "It's like a car showroom and they are not bangers, either. There are 4x4 jeeps up for sale there."

Mr Waudby warned: "My main concern is to get vehicles off the land before anything happens. Residents have threatened to do silly things to the cars.

"The people who live here are very respectable people too - they are not the sort of people who would say that lightly."

He went on: "It's not just the residents of Shipton Road - it's not a NIMBY attitude. Lots of people who have driven past have complained about this.

"You've got to think that it makes a bad impression on people coming into the city to visit."

Coun Waudby said that the number of cars on the verge, which is about 14-feet long, can fluctuate from four a day to none at all on some days.

He said that he was receiving several letters daily from residents about the problem and that one person had even written to the council enclosing all the registration numbers of the cars that had been up for sale there.

"Some people have just thought that the verge is too much of a temptation."

Peter Evely, head of highways regulation at City of York Council, said: "It is not a unique situation either in York or in the rest of the country."

But he added: "In the light of the comments we have received about the situation, we are seeking detailed legal advice."

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