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Traffic wardens’ most-wanted targeted in parking operation
PERSISTENT parking-fine dodgers were caught out on Wednesday when a sting operation left them motorless or seriously out of pocket.
Camden parking officers, the DVLA and hired bailiffs assembled at various locations around Camden throughout the day, looking for vehicles with outstanding tickets, those dodging tax and those with stolen or fraudulent blue badges.
Vehicles at fault were taken away, unless owners made arrangements to pay their fines immediately.
The first port of call was Carol Street in Camden at 6am, where bailiffs seized a car, only to have the owner rush out of his house with a wad of banknotes. He paid £1,100 on the spot, in cash, to keep his vehicle.
A few hours later at Randolph Street, parking officers towed away a van owing £9,000 in parking tickets, with 56 outstanding warrants. The police had to be called to assist the parking team, when the owners refused to let it be taken.
But the worst offender was found on Bassett Street in Queen’s Crescent, just after 1pm.
The registration of a green Mercedes antiques van parked on the corner of the street revealed that the vehicle had 103 unpaid parking tickets, amounting to a total of £12,000 in fines.
The owner is a local businessman who owns a furniture shop on the corner of Bassett Street and Queen’s Crescent. His van was one of the 10 most-wanted vehicles in the borough. The most wanted was also apprehended in Queen’s Crescent in November last year. The green Iveco heavy goods lorry had more than £59,000 in outstanding tickets.
Eddie Barbour, one of the parking officers leading the operation, said: “It’s very difficult to chase these fines up. The vehicles have to be parked for us to take action, and we can only tow it if it is parked illegally.”
Talking about the green van, Mr Barbour said: “This is a case in point. The address the van is registered to doesn’t exist, we have clamped it twice before and they just cut the clamp and drive off and we are powerless to stop them.”
But this time the parking officers came prepared. After 40 minutes double-checking the details, they struck. A DVLA van blocked the exit of the van while traffic wardens clamped the wheel.
Conservative councillor Mike Green said: “There is a small minority of drivers making other residents suffer. When you have 103 outstanding warrants you can see why it’s making everyone else’s life a misery. We must protect our residents.” |
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