THE Government must introduce tough new measures to rid the UK of older vehicles which are becoming the first choice of car thieves. Simultaneously, those vehicles are an 'environmental disaster' and British Vehicle Rental and Leasing Association president Freddie Aldous says the introduction of a scrappage-style allowance and a stricter MoT should be launched.

As new vehicles become increasingly difficult to break into - Northumbria police data shows the downturn in the thefts of Vauxhall Corsa models since the M-plate from January 1996 (over 140 thefts) to September 2000 (less than 10 thefts) - so older vehicles are a prime target. And, in presenting the BVRLA's annual Vehicle Security Awards and Environment Award, Aldous said: 'More than two million new cars are joining the UK's car parc each year but only 1.5 million are coming off the fleet.

'The UK therefore has a growing car parc and an older car parc and the lower end of the fleet vehicles are a security, environmental and a safety disaster.' He added: 'There should be a strong financial incentive to encourage owners of 10-year-old vehicles to take them off the road and opt for new or newer vehicles. At the same time a much stricter MoT test should be introduced for vehicles at three years old and beyond which would help rid the UK of these outdated vehicles.'

BVRLA Security Awards guest speaker Steven Norris said people bought old cars because they could not afford newer vehicles. However, he suggested the Government could use incentivised PCP-type finance arrangements to stimulate new car sales over a five-year period and target the scheme at drivers of older vehicles.