Council chiefs are offering an amnesty to people who want to dispose of their vehicles.

Crawley Borough Council launched the new initiative today in a bid to reduce the number of vehicles abandoned around the town.

If owners sign over their documents and keys to the licensing department at the town hall, the council will have vehicles towed away by a contractor or driven to Bridges car breakers' yard at Pease Pottage.

But Coun Colin Lloyd, executive member for environmental services, said the council would get tough over dumped cars once the amnesty had finished.

He said: "This behaviour is unneighbourly, unsafe and unacceptable.

"We will not hesitate to prosecute people who abandon cars in our town."

The council is asking anyone who sees an abandoned car to call the 24-hour abandoned vehicles hotline on 01293 438290 with details of the location, vehicle make, model and registration number.

More than 160 cars were handed over to the council for destruction during a similar amnesty in Crawley last November and December.