WE HAVE all seen burnt-out cars on the side of highways or in suburban streets.

But why are they there and how did they get that way?

That is a question no doubt many residents ask.

One Woodend lady submitted photos of a burnt-out car being taken away from her street and asked the QT about the phenomenon.

While there is not a spate of burnt out cars in the Ipswich area, police do have to deal with them from time to time.

Often they are stolen vehicles that hoodlums have pinched, ditched and then torched to cover their tracks.

Inspector Keith McDonald said police had means of finding out the owners.

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"Normally with burnt-out vehicles we try to ascertain a match, to see if the vehicle has been stolen," he said.

"We treat it like a located stolen vehicle and endeavour to go back through records.

"In some cases some people drive around with wrong number plates on cars and the car might have changed hands five times in the last two or three years prior to being burned out.

"It is not as though the trail runs cold, but it can make it difficult for police to determine who the owner is if people don't maintain registration and change of address details for their vehicles."

"In other circumstances with stolen vehicles we can grab a VIN number of the vehicle and through the checks identify it as being a stolen car."

Burning a vehicle will often follow a crime.

"They burn them in an endeavour to destroy any incriminating evidence," Insp McDonald said.