Two vehicle owners ordered to pay £10,000 in parking debt from 112 tickets

TWO vehicles found to have more than 100 parking tickets between them totalling £10,000 have been seized by the council and the owners ordered to pay the fines.
Two of the five vehicles removed by the council from Shore Avenue, Milton, this month    PHOTO: Portsmouth City CouncilTwo of the five vehicles removed by the council from Shore Avenue, Milton, this month    PHOTO: Portsmouth City Council
Two of the five vehicles removed by the council from Shore Avenue, Milton, this month PHOTO: Portsmouth City Council

During an operation by Portsmouth City Council to crackdown on illegal and nuisance vehicles, two were found to have 112 parking tickets that had gone unpaid.

Both vehicles remain in the council’s pound and the owners will be required to pay £130 and agree a debt repayment plan before their vehicles are released.

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Seventeen vehicles in the city have been removed by the council as part of its latest clampdown to rid nuisance motors from the streets.

The clampdown has seen 17 vehicles removed from across PortsmouthThe clampdown has seen 17 vehicles removed from across Portsmouth
The clampdown has seen 17 vehicles removed from across Portsmouth

Acting on complaints received from residents, enforcement officers successfully removed five vehicles from Shore Avenue, Milton, in March.

All five vehicles were parked on the roadside and were in poor condition, attracting vandalism and posing serious danger to the public, the council said.

Councillor Simon Bosher, Portsmouth’s cabinet member for traffic and transportation, said: ‘The vehicles in Shore Avenue were in a terrible state.

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‘The worst of the vehicles had no wheels, and had been left on blocks of wood, with rusty metal and sharp edges exposed.

The clampdown has seen 17 vehicles removed from across PortsmouthThe clampdown has seen 17 vehicles removed from across Portsmouth
The clampdown has seen 17 vehicles removed from across Portsmouth

‘We had a duty of care to remove them.’

On Wednesday, March 21, the court supported the council’s action and imposed a destruction order on all five vehicles, instructing the owner to pay the council £2,500 in costs.

Earlier in February, using automatic number plate recognition technology (ANPR) officers located and impounded ten untaxed vehicles taking up valuable parking space in residential areas.

Councillor Bosher added: ‘We will not tolerate untaxed or abandoned vehicles that take up valuable parking space within the city.

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‘They have an impact on the local environment and can cause a danger to our residents.’

In order to reclaim their vehicles, registered keepers are required to pay a £200 removal fee and provide proof of ownership and valid road tax.

Vehicles that are not claimed are either sold at auction so the council can reclaim the fees, or destroyed (dependant on the vehicle value or condition).

In terms of the ten vehicles impounded by the council, four of these have been released, three are still impounded and three have been authorised for disposal.