Milton Keynes City Council have fined a woman for abandoning her car in the city.

The fine was made in response to the illegal dumping of a car in the Conniburrow area of the city in August 2023 by a resident of Milton Keynes who has not been named.

On 22 July, Magistrates at Milton Keynes heard that the abandoned car was also untaxed and had no MOT. MK City Council’s Environment Crime Unit had placed a notice on the car to warn the owner, but this was ignored and the car was later removed. Investigations revealed that the owner had failed to notify DVLA of a change of address but officers located her and she was summonsed to appear before court for abandoning her motor vehicle. 

In court, the woman was found guilty of abandoning a car. She was fined £250, ordered to pay £782 in compensation, pay the city council’s legal costs of £200 and a victim surcharge of £100. 

MK City Council’s Cabinet Member for the Public Realm Cllr Jennifer Wilson-Marklew said, “Vehicles left abandoned in our neighbourhoods are unsightly and can attract more antisocial behaviour. You can’t just leave things you don’t want on our streets and hope no one will take action against you. We will act and prosecute.”

The city council said that they deal with around 2,000 reports of abandoned vehicles each year, incurring costs to deal with removal, storage and disposal which could be better spent elsewhere.