CAR owners who abandon their vehicles on the streets of Colchester can expect to be prosecuted, a senior council officer has warned.John Simpson, head of street services in the borough, made his comments a year after a dedicated team was set up to blitz the town's highways.

CAR owners who abandon their vehicles on the streets of Colchester can expect to be prosecuted, a senior council officer has warned.

John Simpson, head of street services in the borough, made his comments a year after a dedicated team was set up to blitz the town's highways.

Nine street care officers now patrol Colchester with the sole job of trying to ensure the council lives up to its commitment to be the cleanest and greenest in the country.

Tackling issues like litter enforcement, street and public toilet cleaning and market and street trading, the officers have achieved notable results.

A regional cleanliness watchdog found that while 76 per cent of roads were "acceptable" in 2002, this year 98 per cent were given the same mark.

Colchester was also graded the second cleanest town in the Eastern region.

Mr Simpson also said that a crackdown on abandoned vehicles had led to a far quicker removal rate.

"About a year ago, it took on average 15 days to remove an abandoned vehicle. Now that's down to 3.5 days," he said.

"People who abandon vehicles will be pursued and legal action will be taken to remove this blight from our streets," he added.

The team of officers has been visiting parishes around the borough, Mr Simpson said.

But rather than simply meeting with local councillors, team members pay a full site visit and see for themselves any problems specific to the area.

"Our approach is a joint approach," Mr Simpson said.

"We get out and target hot spots. There are one or two areas in the borough which are still problem areas.

"We still have a long way to go. But there are definitely improvements," he added.