A Tolworth estate agent has called on Kingston Council to seize control of a private street plagued by abandoned cars, fly-tipping and arson.

Ray Lucioni, a partner at Property Ladder in Tolworth Broadway, believes many of the problems facing the troubled Broadoaks could be solved if it came under Guildhall control.

He has urged local traders and the council to stump up the estimated £250,000 needed to make it possible.

Abandoned cars and rubbish are regularly dumped on the road, which is behind the Broadway, and later set alight by arsonists.

The service road is privately owned by traders, hampering police and council efforts to clean it up.

Police can only remove abandoned cars from a private road if they are thought to be dangerous, and the council does not have the power to install CCTV there.

If the council adopted the road as one of its own, it would also have more power to prosecute people who dump rubbish and cars there.

But there is a catch the road must be brought up to a certain standard if it is to be adopted. The road surface must be improved and proper pavements constructed at an estimated cost of £250,000.

Mr Lucioni has called on local traders and the council to find the money before one of the car fires spreads to an adjoining house and someone is killed.

Each burning car costs about £5,000 for the fire brigade to extinguish, and Mr Lucioni estimates there have been up to 15 in Broadoaks over the past year. The last one was burnt out just two weeks ago.

He said: "How many cars have to be burnt out before we reach £250,000? Tolworth Broadway is improving, it's a shame to clean up the front and not the back."

Mr Lucioni is backed by Tolworth and Hook Rise Liberal Democrat councillor Rob Lee, who lives in Broadoaks. He said if all the traders and residents who lived in the street paid £1,250 they could easily raise enough for the road to be adopted.

He said: "How much is that if we think about the appreciation of properties? As a resident I would be more than happy to put my hand in my pocket."

But Coun Lee said much of the rubbish was dumped in the street by local traders and called on them to take more responsibility for the street.

He also believed police should take more action to arrest the arsonists who torched cars.

Chief Inspector Tim Pointer said police took the matter seriously and were carrying out operations to tackle the arson.

Coun Vicki Harris, chairman of the south of the borough neighbourhood committe, which could fund the measure, said she may be prepared to meet some of the cost if residents and traders could find the rest.

sbrody@london.newsquest.co.uk