Management students from Manchester have been working with Sussex Police to tackle the problem of abandoned cars.

In only two months, the number of vehicles towed away in West Sussex has risen fourfold thanks to their strategy.

If the trial continues to be a success, it could be extended across the country.

The rapid rise in the number of abandoned cars littering the streets has been well documented.

Plummeting scrap values have led some motorists to leave their cars to rot when, in the past, they would have taken them to a scrapyard.

Lacking powers to act promptly, councils have often left these vehicles for up to two months. The wrecks can become dangerous playgrounds for youngsters and a fire hazard.

Last month, Transport Secretary Stephen Byers announced plans to give authorities greater powers to remove vehicles.

This would allow authorities to tow away hazardous vehicles within 24 hours and non-dangerous cars within seven to 14 days.

However, students at Manchester Business School (MBS) have been working with Sussex Police and believe they have found a faster and more effective solution.

The scheme has been piloted by the police, fire service and Chichester and Arun District Councils since September and is proving a success.

MBS's project supervisor Professor Pete Barrar said the students found, in Sussex alone, 32,000 cars were abandoned annually.

The associated costs to agencies in handling multiple calls, visiting sites and clearing vehicles amounted to £307 per car and an annual bill of £9.8 million.

Prof Barrar said, nationally, the figure could be in the order of £550 million.

He said: "MBS conducted an activity analysis which revealed the average time interval between initial notification and vehicle removal was 28 days.

"Numerous examples were cited where multiple calls and attendance by police, councils and the fire brigade had done little to resolve the problem. In one council area, patrol officers attended a car five times in a three-week period.

"Elsewhere, the West Sussex Fire Brigade turned out on two occasions to fires in the same vehicle as its condition degenerated to a dangerous mass of twisted metal."

The students calculated call-out costs would fall dramatically if the vehicles were removed within 48 hours, rather than four weeks.

There would also be the added benefit for residents of not having to look at unsightly abandoned cars.

Because police have greater powers than council officials for removing these vehicles, a scheme has been established with a police officer and council worker going out together to examine reports of abandoned cars. They decide the best course of action together.

Operation Crackdown has been running in Chichester and Arun since September 3.

Inspector Ali Darge, project manager for the police, said: "Since phase one started we have already removed more than 400 vehicles.

"Before, in the Chichester and Arun area, we would have re-moved about a quarter of that in the same time.

"Cars are being left for a week to ten days tops. We have not got it down to 24 hours - that would be very, very optimistic. I would say realistically 48 hours would be very good."

Mr Darge said in phase two, council officers will be going out alone with digital cameras. They will take photographs of offending vehicles which will be sent to a central computer and police officers can decide whether to authorise removal and destruction.

Again, this will be started in the Chichester and Arun areas.

But Mr Darge said if it was continued throughout Sussex, it could cut the annual costs of disposing of abandoned vehicles from almost £10 million to just above £2 million.

This could be extended throughout the country.

Councillor Janet Duncton, Chichester District Council's leader for community and safety issues, said the scheme in Chichester and Arun had so far been hugely successful.

She said: "The police have far greater powers than we do to remove cars.

"If we are charged with removing one, we need to leave it until we are clear as to who the owner is and give them a chance to remove it, even though we may be well aware it is abandoned.

"The police have, for instance, the power to remove cars if they are dangerous. That can cut down the time for removal which, for us, was a minimum of a month. The police can do it within two days."

She said the council would soon start pursuing the last registered owner of abandoned vehicles and charging them the fee for towing it away, currently £105.

But, until March, there is an amnesty, meaning owners of broken-down vehicles can ask the council to dispose of them for £35.

A Brighton and Hove City Council spokesman said: "We don't see any particular advantage in going on patrol with police officers.

"The police will usually remove a dangerous car pretty quickly here without the need for us to send them a digital picture.

"But we do occasionally email them to the police.

"We're pretty quick anyway. Latest figures show we remove genuinely abandoned cars in 16 days in the east of the city and 13.5 days in the west.

"We are faster than most neighbouring authorities - and the national average, which is 28 days."

The spokesman said cars could sit with council stickers on but had actually been claimed.

Drivers have seven days to claim a vehicle reported as abandoned.

He said the council supported the Government's proposals to speed up the process as long as extra resources were provided to meet the additional workload.