Sorry we towed your car, boss... wardens return parking chief's Merc

12 April 2012

A council parking boss whose Mercedes was towed by his own staff had the car returned to him after workers realised what they had done.

Seamus Adams, Hackney's head of parking services, left his Mercedes SLK280, complete with personalised number plate "89 SA", in a residents-only bay in the borough.

Although Mr Adams has an all-zones permit which allows him to park anywhere in Hackney, it was not on show on the car's dashboard.

His vehicle was given a ticket by wardens for not having a permit, and then towed away from St Thomas's Square on September 27.

The council today claimed the wardens should have checked their database to make sure that the car's owner did not have a permit.

Mr Adams was charged a £60 penalty, which he paid — but not the £260 that most people are required to pay for the towing fee. He also did not have to collect his car.

Instead the Mercedes, which is worth £40,000 and can do 0-60mph in 6.2 seconds, was returned to where he had originally left it.

The council even admitted Mr Adams missed the 14-day deadline to pay the ticket — meaning he should have been fined £120. He only had to hand over £60, as he had tried to pay earlier but "there had been a problem with the system".

A council insider said: "Seamus was furious that the car was towed. He's got an all-areas permit and thinks he should never have been towed in the first place, even though he didn't have the permit on show.

The tow-truck boys had to do a quick about-turn when they realised what they had done. It's not a good idea to rile the boss by towing his Merc."

Barrie Segal of website Appeal Now, which helps motorists challenge parking tickets, said he was "disgusted" by the special treatment.

He added: "The council claims its parking enforcement is fair and transparent, but clearly it is one rule for them and one for the others."

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