The image of a disused car sat by the roadside is becoming an increasingly common sight in Britain, with newly released figures showing reports of abandoned cars have tripled over the past four years.

Across the North West there has been a 324 per cent increase in reports of abandoned cars over the same period - with some startling figures reported by councils in Cumbria.

According to data obtained by Confused.com via a Freedom of Information request, in 2016 147,616 vehicles were reported to local authority areas as abandoned, compared with just 40,876 in 2012.

Locally, Barrow Borough Council were informed of 132 abandoned vehicles in 2016 and 2017, with 55 removed and 11 subsequently destroyed.

It cost the council £3,300 to manage the removal and destruction of the vehicles.

Reports have risen starkly - in 2013, just nine vehicles were reported as abandoned to the council, compared to 71 in 2016 and 61 in 2017.

For South Lakeland District Council, 414 abandoned vehicles were reported, though just eight required removal by the council. All eight were then destroyed.

Carlisle Council had a whopping 807 vehicles reported as abandoned in the same two-year period, with 32 removed and 30 subsequently destroyed. Data on the cost to the council was not available.

Again, an alarming rise is evident - just 53 were reported as abandoned in 2013, compared with 439 in 2017.

Eden District Council dealt with 184 reports, removing 18 and destroying 15 abandoned vehicles, at a cost of £442.

The surging costs of road tax, insurance and repair bills have been suggested as causes for the rise.

You can view an interactive map detailing the figures for across the country here

Amanda Stretton, motoring editor at Confused.com, said: "The rising cost of fuel, car insurance and tax is overwhelming some motorists, causing some of them to ditch their vehicles when they breakdown."

“Abandoned vehicles are an eye-sore and a nuisance. Drivers who suspect a car has been dumped in their area should contact their local council, who will get in touch with the owner, or remove it."

Edmund King, president of the AA, pointed to additional cost of scrapping a car.

He said: "Twenty years ago if you had a rubbish car you could get £150 for scrapping it.

"But in recent years the price of metal has gone down and nowadays people will be asked to pay over £100 to have their car taken away and scrapped.”

Comparison website confused.com obtained the figures for councils across Britain via a Freedom of Information request issued to 400 local authority areas - with 289 responding.

The report identified Coventry as the "scrapyard capital of Britain", with 2,321 cars abandoned in 2016/17.

Nationally, the number of abandoned cars has tripled over four years, from 40,876 in 2012 to 147,616 in 2016.

The local authority has a duty to remove an abandoned vehicle if left on a public highway.

Local councils inevitably foot the nearly-£1M bill for dealing with the eyesores - £933,379 was spent on removing and destroying abandoned vehicles in 2016 and 2017.

In the North West, local authorities spent £58,533 on removal costs in 2016 and 2017.

Given the population density, it is unsurprising to see London top of the list on this category - its local authorities spent £146,203 in the same period.