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Danny Simani with his car after it was eventually unclamped |
Prisoner of the car clampers
Disabled driver stuck in flat for three days... because he forgot to display permit
FOR three days a disabled IT consultant was virtually imprisoned in his Holloway home after his car was clamped.
Wheelchair-user Danny Simani has a polio condition and is unable to walk more than a few yards from his home in Hilldrop Road. Without his car, he could not go shopping and had to cancel hospital and work appointments.
The car was clamped outside his flat on the Combes estate because Mr Simani had forgotten to display his disabled blue badge on the windscreen.
And because he refused to pay a £75 release fee demanded by parking firm Wings – on the grounds that the clamping was unfair – he nervously expected the vehicle to removed at any moment.
This week, Labour councillor Wally Burgess and Conservative council candidate Oriel Hutchinson deplored the action by the parking firm, acting for the borough’s housing agency, Homes for Islington (HfI).
Mr Simani even penned a letter of complaint to Prime Minister Gordon Brown. He has yet to receive a reply.
He said: “My neighbours alerted me about being clamped last Wednesday week. But the firm didn’t remove the device until Friday at 4pm.
“That’s three whole days being stuck indoors – all because I forgot to display a permit. But I was determined I wouldn’t pay a penny to the parking firm.”
Thanks to the efforts of Cllr Burgess and Ms Hutchinson, acting independently, the firm removed the clamp and waived the charge with a warning that it would not be “so lenient” next time.
But Mr Simani, who teaches video technology at nearby Hilldrop Community Centre, said: “As I understand it, the firm should have had someone standing by explaining what was happening before they clamped a disabled person. Besides, they knew I was disabled.
“I have been parking outside my flat for 18 years and the word disabled is written across my vehicle. On top of that, I display a disabled tax exempt certificate.”
Mr Simani said he did not always display his blue badge because it can tempt thieves. “Blue badges are worth thousands of pounds on the black market, where they are used fraudulently by motorists seeking free parking,” he added. “The fact I didn’t display it should not make me a criminal.”
Cllr Burgess said: “I’ve known Danny for many years and he’s a real fighter.”
A HfI spokesman said: “The car was correctly clamped under estate parking restrictions. There was no blue badge on display. The only thing on show was an expired resident’s parking permit.
“Given Mr Simani’s circumstances we have agreed to unclamp his vehicle. We have reminded him that he needs to display a blue badge or a valid permit. This advice goes for anyone parking on HfI-managed estates where parking restrictions are in force.” |
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