It’s hard enough trying to find a parking space in Marbella as it is. Nothing sends my blood boiling more (though admittedly it’s normally on a low simmer to begin with) than spotting what you think is space, only to discover that it is occupied by either a skip, or a car that has been abandoned.

Thankfully Marbella Town Hall as begun an intensive campaign to remove a total of 170 abandoned vehicles from public roads. The Councilor for Citizen Security, José Eduardo Díaz, explained that they will be removing 1,130 vehicles, up from the 1,000 of last year.

Mayor Ángeles Muñoz explained that “… it is the period, after the high season, where there are more abandoned cars in the town. This is a job carried out by the Local Police and that requires a very important administrative effort”.

A total of 205 have already been moved to the municipal depot, 264 have been destroyed and 175 have been moved by owners.

Díaz also highlighted the email depositovehiculos.policia@marbella.es for anyone who notices an abandoned vehicle. Local Police Chief , Javier Martín, explained “the complex process that we have to carry out to get rid of these cars, which begins when the agents detect it, report its parking and it is checked for a month, under the specific regulations, and does not move.

“Then we begin the process to remove it, which usually lasts between a month and a month and a half, transferring it to the warehouse where a request is again made to the owner, which, if he does not answer, ends with the destruction of the vehicle.”

Martín also pointed outthat “the Town Hall also offers those who cannot get rid of their car, because they do not have sufficient means, the possibility of deregistering it, removing it from public roads. and its subsequent scrapping”.