Britain's abandoned cars mountain has grown by 37% in the last two years, according to official figures revealed yesterday.

The worst local authorities have seen their numbers of dumped vehicles rise sixfold, with Wyre Forest, the worst offender, showing a 636% increase - from 73 to 537 - in the last year.

East Hampshire has seen a 538% increase, from 311 vehicles to 1,984; Chester-le-Street 400%; and Stockton-on-Tees 378%.

In London, the borough of Haringey has the worst record - with a 29% increase - but other major cities have more severe problems: Birmingham has seen a 102% increase, from 5,257 to 10,638.

Only 102 out of 299 local authorities, one in three, meanwhile, have managed to reduce their abandoned car levels, with seven managing to more than halve their number of dumped vehicles.

The "mountain" has grown because owners, currently responsible for paying for their car's disposal, have reacted by dumping them.

That will change in 2007 when the European end of life vehicle directive will make the vehicle's producer responsible for the cost of disposal.