A snowball stand owner called yesterday for abandoned cars to be shifted from land beside a play park so he can regenerate the area for local people.

Alfred Butterfield said he wanted to make the area next to the Pembroke playground safe for children and also encourage other Bermudian businesses to set up near by.

He added his goal was to run drive-in movie nights at weekends and workshops for young entrepreneurs. But Mr Butterfield, 53, said the vehicles that sit rotting in the car park next to his business had to be moved first.

Mr Butterfield, who owns Jazzy Treats at the junction of North Street and Parson’s Road, said: “This is a playground and it’s being used as a dumping ground.

“It has been a problem for a good eight to ten years, but now it’s getting worse.

“People usually bring their cars down here and leave them; other people come down and take parts. They leave them for the Government to come and pick them up.”

When The Royal Gazette visited the site, there were vehicles in various states of decay, including a Toyota, which Mr Butterfield said had been there for a number of years.

An Opel, he says has languished for about nine months, is missing a door and has extensive damage to its front and rear, while a Volkswagen that was said to have been left on Wednesday was also in a bad state. Mr Butterfield, a grandfather of five, said: “I’m looking out for Parson’s Road and people that use the playground because this is a health hazard.

“The moment a child goes missing and gets trapped in one of those cars, the Government is going to want to do something, but let’s do something now. Prevention is better than cure.”

The businessman said in his experience, officials from the Transport Control Department would put a notice on a car before a tow truck removed it to the government quarry for eventual destruction.

But he claimed he has raised the problem recently with the parks department, which he said was responsible for the land, but was told there was no room at the quarry.

Mr Butterfield said: “I think Government should find out who the owners are and send them a fine, like $2,500, or take them to court.

“When we start doing that, people are not going to leave cars all over the place.”

Mr Butterfield, who grew up in the area, has outlined proposals for what he calls D’Vendors’ Village.

He said that containers parked along the road would also need to be moved to create space for traders to set up about eight pods similar to his own to offer a “Harbour Nights Back of Town” experience.

Mr Butterfield said: “The children can have a fun castle, a safe place for them, the vendors would be busy.

“It creates a whole atmosphere for the neighbourhood, I want to create something positive for around here and give something back to the community.”

He added: “I would love to get it up next summer, but I can’t do it if the cars are still here and containers are still there.

“I want to inspire other young people to be entrepreneurs and make their own money — with the vendors, we will have a workshop.”

Mr Butterfield said: “I have everything on paper, the only thing I need now is for Government to do their part by cleaning up the cars.”

The owner of one of the containers told The Royal Gazette that he planned to have it removed early next week.

The Government did not respond to a request for comment yesterday.