The image of cars being picked up off the street and crushed into a block of plastic, steel and glass in less than a minute is just the kind of short, sharp, shock that those who flout the laws of the road need to get the message that Bradford will put up with the scourge of abandoned cars and broken rules no longer.

One of the biggest detriments to Bradford improving its image is the number of vehicles which are stolen and abandoned on the streets by the thieves.

The police are to be applauded for their concentrated efforts to clamp down on car crime, which saw them out in force on the Ravenscliffe estate. Four abandoned cars were given the crusher treatment, literally hoisted up from the street and crushed there and then with the aid of a mobile car crusher which the police brought with them for the high-profile event.

But the abandoned cars, although a highly-visible problem on Bradford's streets, are only a part of the situation. For the cars to be abandoned they first have to be stolen and there are also huge numbers of motorists driving around without tax and insurance, cheating the system and putting other road users at risk.

During the day of action on Ravenscliffe the police also stopped more than 60 drivers for having no tax discs, and there were arrests in relation to theft and drug offences.

It's important that the police are seen to be doing something about the problems that are the cause of many complaints from the public, and if it takes something as dramatic as cars crushed on the street to get the message across, so be it.