INFURIATED council officers are trying to solve the mystery of how a car, abandoned on a red route in Croydon, turned up in a quiet Beckenham street.

Residents in South Eden Park Road were astonished when they saw a police pick-up truck drop the black Ford Sierra off last week.

David Leonard, 64, was enjoying a spot of gardening when he caught sight of the truck pulling up outside his house.

"At first I thought he was taking the car away but then I realised he was actually dumping it," he said.

"It was definitely a police van. When I spoke to the driver, he told me it had been moved from a red route on Wickham Road, in Shirley, and that it had all been approved'."

He added: "It's unbelievable. We've got enough problems with cars being dumped in Bromley without being used as a dumping ground by other boroughs. I'd like to know who it was who approved' this."

A Bromley Council spokesman said the authority is still trying to find out why the saloon car, registration F89 PBK, was dumped in the borough.

He said: "We are keen to find out how this happened. There was no agreement made between Croydon Council and ourselves and we are pursuing police at Battersea to find out what has happened."

When the News Shopper contacted Battersea police pound, we were told they had no record of the car.

Croydon Council told us they were "looking into" the issue.

csteel@london.newsquest.co.uk