A beauty spot has been cleared of burnt-out cars with the aid of firefighters who used the project as a training exercise.

Brighton and Hove City Council enlisted East Sussex Fire Brigade to help tidy Stanmer Park in Brighton.

The abandoned cars were in areas that could not be reached by tow vehicles.

Hamish MacKenzie, cleansing and highways enforcement officer for the council, approached the brigade.

It used specialist equipment to dismantle the cars yesterday as part of training for car crash rescues.

Leading firefighter Mark Pittock said: "We're here to serve the community and part of that is to make sure the environment is kept up to standard."

Councillor Gill Mitchell, who chairs the environment committee, said: "Stanmer Park is a wonderful green space and burnt-out cars are a real eyesore."

An average of 26 cars are abandoned and many of them torched in the park every year.

The council is considering putting a hydraulic gate at the entrance to keep out vehicles at night.

Sussex Police said the park was a favourite venue for joyriders who wheelspin and leave furrows on fields and pitches. The force has taken aerial shots to show the damage.

Inspector Steve Curry has been spearheading Operation Shaft, a crackdown on car villains.

Arrests and high-profile patrols have brought car crime to a halt some weeks.

Mr Curry said Stanmer village residents expressed concern about joyriders but latest feedback showed they felt there had been a big improvement.