Motorist ordered to pay £1,500 by court after abandoning his car in village

Dale Haggett, of Colchester, Essex, was identified as the registered keeper of a silver Ford Fiesta which had been left in Woodlands Close.

Charnwood Borough Council officers received reports of the vehicle in July 2019 and traced Mr Haggett as the registered keeper through the DVLA.

Two warning letters were issued to him on two separate occasions stating the council would be removing the vehicle.

Mr Haggett did not respond to the letters on either occasion so the authority issued a fixed penalty notice for £200 - it would have been reduced to £120 if paid within 10 days.

After no payments were received for the fixed penalty notice, a reminder letter was sent in August and another the folowing month allowing Mr Haggett a further 14 days to pay.

This request was also ignored so his case was bought before Leicester Magistrates’ Court on March 4.

Mr Haggett did not attend the hearing and JPs fined him £440, ordered him to pay £1,100 costs to the council and a £44 victim surcharge.

The costs incurred by the council included the charge for the removal, storage and disposal of the vehicle.

After the hearing, Cllr Margaret Smidowicz, lead member for regulatory services at Charnwood Council, said: “I hope this demonstrates to people that it is not acceptable to simply abandon your vehicle.

“Not only can they become a nuisance for residents, but they may be dangerous depending on where they are left.

“It’s important for people to know that we will prosecute those who abandon their vehicles and fail to pay fines.”