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Lambeth Council crush classic Bristol


saab
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I'm all for robust enforcement of the law, but surely someone should have questioned what was going on? From thisislondon.co.uk today here :

Crushed by the council: the £30,000 classic car that was parked legally

A music producer is demanding compensation after a council towed away his rare £30,000 classic car - and crushed it.

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The Bristol 411 was left legally in a council-run car park when Lambeth officials swooped. They towed it to a pound and destroyed it the same day.

Mendoza Stewart's pride and joy: His £30,000 classic car

Owner Mendoza Stewart said he was mystified as to why the car was targeted. He said: "The council said it was not taxed but as a 1972 classic car it is road-tax free and it was fully up to date. The tax disc was in the windscreen."

The aluminium-bodied vehicle was also in good condition after being restored.

Mr Stewart, who lives in Kennington, had parked it in a space beside his son's flat in Camberwell when it went missing.

"I was horrified - I thought it had been stolen and went to the police," he said. "They were unable to find it but after investigating discovered that Lambeth had taken it away.

"Someone who spotted my car arriving at the pound said that within minutes they had used a mechanical grab to pick it up by the roof instead of carefully lifting it down.

"By then it was all over - it was utterly wrecked before I had a chance to retrieve it. I have not seen it since. They cannot explain why they took away what is obviously a special, rare car."

Lambeth has admitted liability but has not paid any compensation - even though the Bristol was snatched in December 2004.

Meanwhile, Mr Stewart has been reduced to driving an ageing van. "I cannot believe it has taken so long," he said. "It was a very special car that I bought in 1984 after a long search. I found it with a dealer in Wimbledon. It is unlikely I shall find another."

The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency confirmed Mr Stewart's Bristol would have been a "classic" car because of its age and not subject to road tax. It would have displayed a tax disc declaring "Nil payment" - A Lambeth spokesman said: "Solicitors acting for Lambeth council have accepted breach of duty on behalf of their client. The council apologises to Mr Stewart.

"As the matter is currently being litigated, we cannot comment further at this time but we are working hard to resolve this case as soon as possible."

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typical council and typical bunch of feckwits!

If it had been a mancky old mondeo they would have left it!

Who the hell employs these useless idiots - ah I know another useless idiot - if you work your way to the top - Blairs name comes up - another class 1 feckwit!

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  • 2 weeks later...
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  • 3 weeks later...

I used to work in Local governemtn and they were dire places to get stuff done.

We often found proof that people were claiming benefits fraudulently, or cars that were illegal, etc,etc and never once were they followed up internally when we made reports, but every week you'd here of cash being squandered on a councillors whim..... just awful place.

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  • 3 months later...

Urgh, I hate councils and generally any government body/organisation. Any decision cannot usually be traced to anyone and as soon as you try and find something out you get put into a maze of contacts and telephone numbers.

Such a shame for a beautiful car like that to be crushed. Bit of me died whilst reading that.

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