Driver in defiant stand-off with traffic wardens locks himself inside car as it is towed away! A parking rebel is locked in a city centre stand-off with council traffic wardens who tried to tow his car with him still inside. The driver of the car has vowed he is staying put all day in his Vauxhall despite it being towed onto a lorry in Birmingham earlier. He is refusing to move claiming his human rights are being breached, and that the councils actions in removing his car is legal theft. However, Birmingham City Council said the man had parked illegally in a clearly-marked on-street disabled bay on what retailers have forecast as one of the busiest shopping days of the year before Christmas, depriving those rightly entitled to use the space. Matthew Sanders, of Macclesfield, Cheshire, has been arguing with council wardens and the police - at the scene to prevent a breach of the peace - from his front seat, since the morning. The 34-year-old claimed his car was towed onto the back of the lorry in a violation of health and safety. Mr Sanders said the blue Vauxhall Tigra, which he had left parked in Bennetts Hill off New Street, was his only form of transport and he needed it to see his daughter, and get about. Its the European Convention on Human Rights - the police have threatened me with arrest for breach of the peace, he told the Birmingham Mail, from his passenger seat. Quite simply, Im here all day, I wont move, I know Im right in what Im doing and Im standing up for peoples rights because it is legal theft. A policeman was filmed attempting to pass the driver a copy of the legislation allowing councils to remove illegally parked cars, but Mr Sanders apparently refused to take it, according to the officer. West Midlands Police said its officers were at the scene as a preventative measure. A council spokesman said the man had parked illegally in a disabled bay and had wasted the time of officers and contractors. This driver parked illegally in a disabled bay without a blue badge, he said. Disabled motorists have a right to park in designated spaces and this drivers actions have taken a much-needed space out of action for disabled visitors to the city for an entire morning and wasted the time of officers and contractors. The police are in attendance and we hope this is resolved as soon as possible in order to keep the city moving on one of the busiest days of the year.
Posted on: Thu, 25 Dec 2014 12:00:00 +0000
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