AN amnesty is to be declared on untaxed abandoned cars and a special tip opened where owners can take their vehicles, in an attempt to exorcise a town of its arson-blight.

The project, which should also see the rapid removal of fly tippers' waste and the swift boarding up of empty houses at South Bank, near Middlesbrough, could be in place in two months' time.

It is part of a £6m, three- year scheme to improve the quality of life in and around South Bank and Grangetown.

Fire Station Officer George Crooks said: "We are in negotiation with the council and a number of local businesses. We have about eight or nine partners on board to supplement the Redcar and Cleveland Borough Council scheme.

"We are looking at feasibility studies and have started to exchange information and put protocols in place and we are recovering vehicles quicker than we did in the past," he said.

SO Crooks, of the Arson Investigation Unit, believes there are dozens of illegal vehicles in the area - each a potential firebomb when they are abandoned.

"Problems are usually caused by a small minority of people - but this can be rectified.

"If properties are not secure and rubbish is left to pile up, they attract further vandalism and anti-social behaviour.

"One thing leads to another, a fire is started and as a result anti social behaviour radiates out into the rest of the community."

The Guinness Trust has employed two neighbourhood support workers to clear rubbish dumped in back yards while ensuring empty buildings are boarded up.

Mr Crooks said: "We intend to develop a pilot model working with several partners involving various initiatives to reduce fires and the threat of fires. We can refine it, look at the best working practices and, based on the successes of the scheme in South Bank and Grangetown, eventually offer that to the rest of Teesside.'' Chief Superintendent John Kelly said: "The problem of abandoned vehicles cannot be minimised and if we remove them before they are set on fire, it can only improve the image of the borough.''