MORE than 1.5 million potential "danger"  cars go missing in Britain each year, when they should be scrapped. Only half a million of the two million motors taken off the roads annually have the correct paperwork which proves they have been disposed of in an enviromentally friendly way.

    The other 1.5 million potentially dangerous wrecks have been dumped or turned into cut and shuts, say worried campaigners. Lib Dem MEP Chris Davies has described the situation as "ludicrously out of touch with reality" and demanded the Government tightens the lethal loophole.

     Since 2003, motorists have been legally required to take unwanted vehicles to an Authorised Treatment Facility (ATF) to be broken down. They should get a Certificate of Destruction (CoD) to prove all contaminants were removed before the car was scrapped.

    However, Davies is accussing the Government agencies charged with overseeing the system - the DVLA and the Enviroment Agency - of not properly informing people and letting the situation "slip into chaos". He said: " I asked them for details about how to scrap and old car. The reply did not even mention CoDs, yet these have been law for more than three years." 

    A DVLA and the Enviroment Agency - of not properly informing people and letting the situation "slip into chaos". He said: "i asked them for details about how to scrap an old car. The reply did not even mention CoDs, yet these have been law for more than three years." 

    A DVLA spokesman explained:  "We are aware the number of certificates issued is less than the number of vehicles scrapped, and are working to tighten up procedures." Enviroment group Friends of the Earth added: "Battery acid and oil are extremely toxic, and need to be disposed of properly."