It is an alarming state of affairs that the problem of abandoned cars in Bradford has reached such epidemic proportions that the police have felt it necessary to appoint a specialist officer to deal with it.

Since last April 1,274 dumped cars have been removed from the roads and streets through a partnership formed between the Council and West Yorkshire Police. These cars not only litter the streets, making the district look untidy and tempting youngsters to play dangerous games in and around them. Some of them are also being abandoned in such a way as to leave them available to criminals who use them as getaway "pool vehicles".

Many of them are bigger, older, more powerful cars that their owners can no longer afford to run. It would cost too much to get them through their MoT test or meet tax and insurance costs, so they dump them - in some cases arranging for them to be conveniently stolen and torched.

The 1,274 cars represent a lot of scrap metal which a few years ago would have found its way into wreckers' yards. Now not only do these places not want to hand over money for scrapped vehicles but they expect the owners to pay them to take them away. It is symptomatic of our throwaway society.

The police are right to be giving priority to quickly identifying and removing abandoned vehicles, particularly those which could be used by the underworld. However, it is a sorry reflection on our modern times that scarce Council and police resources should have to be used up in this way.