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Michelle Traverse with mother Chris and daughter Tianna at the scene of her protest |
Baby in arms, mum stages tow truck parking protest
A MOTHER-of-two leapt into a tow truck and refused to budge until police came when her car was given a parking ticket and lifted out of a resident’s bay.
Michelle Traverse, 39, picked up her seven-month old baby and ran from her Hampstead flat when she saw that her Suzuki was about to be towed away on Monday morning.
Ms Traverse, who is on maternity leave, had missed a temporary sign on a lamppost in Parkhill Road indicating that parking bays were out of use until December 23, as a major gas project was starting on Monday.
Parking officers had arrived during the night and placed a yellow hood over the permanent sign showing the usual regulations within the Belsize controlled parking zone (CPZ). In the morning a traffic warden ticketed the car and the tow truck was called in.
Its driver ordered Ms Traverse out of the truck and called police when she refused to move.
She said: “He kept threatening to call the police but I was telling him to do it because I wanted them to come and see what was happening.”
Eventually, a distressed Ms Traverse called her mother, who forked out £200 from her credit card to have the car released after police drove them to the car pound.
A Camden Council press official said: “A three-way yellow sign informing residents they cannot park in the road between December 11 and mid-April was put up on November 26. This was in accordance with our 14-day policy of informing residents affected by any parking changes.
“Following the 14-day notice period, if any vehicle is found parked illegally it will be issued with a parking charge notice.”
She added that residents had been sent letters informing them of changes to parking restrictions.
Despite the signs, British Gas contractors North London Gas Alliance (NLGA) were not working in Parkhill Road on Monday.
An NLGA spokeswoman said work began on Tuesday and would continue until April, with a week’s break for Christmas. |
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