I’m 78 and the police wrongly seized my mobility scooter so I can't do anything now
A 78-year-old man from Cleveleys says he has been left feeling stranded after Lancashire Police wrongly seized his mobility scooter.
Grandfather of five David Howarth had his mobility scooter seized by the police last week, after it had been mistakenly connected with an incident in Cleveleys.
Lancashire Police were called to Crescent East to a report of a collision between a mobility scooter and a pedestrian on Tuesday at 1:10pm, and the pedestrian, a woman in her 70s, was taken to hospital with serious injuries.
The incident happened outside the Vault pub, around the corner from The Jolly Tars JD Wetherspoons, where sociable pensioner David was enjoying his breakfast.
At the time, his mobility scooter was parked outside the Wetherspoons pub, reportedly in sight of CCTV since 10:15 am, but when he went to leave, he found it had been taken away.
David told the Gazette: “The police came and took it without any notification. They had no right to take it like that.
“I use it every day to get about because I can’t walk a long way now because my legs are so weak.
“It’s like taking the legs away from a man when you take his scooter, I can’t go to the shop or anything without it.”
Usually a very outgoing man, Diddy David - as he is known by his friends - found his freedom severely limited without his mobility scooter and so contacted police desperately seeking its return.
When the scooter was finally returned on Friday after four days, David said it “arrived in a very bad state... the paint came off in my hands” and so straight away it had to be sent away for repair.
Pictures show his usually pristine scooter was returned by police covered in dust, with parts of the paint having rubbed away.
David, who as of today has now been without a scooter for a whole week, added: “The police officer definitely did not do his job right. My scooter was on CCTV, all they needed to do was ask to look at the CCTV and they would have known that my scooter had been parked up since 10:15 and had nothing to do with the incident. It shows the incompetence of the police.
“The stress it’s caused me, I can’t get up and out now, I can’t do anything.
“Normally I would be out first thing in the morning and I wouldn’t be back until the evening. I’ve had to get taxis in the meantime, because I don’t like putting on my family.”
David was told verbally by the police that they would reimburse him for the repair costs, but he has had nothing in writing.
When approached by the Blackpool Gazette about the issue, Lancashire Police also did not confirm if they would reimburse David.
Instead, a Lancashire Police spokesperson said: “The scooter was seized as part of our enquiries into a collision in which an elderly pedestrian received serious injuries. Our enquiries have since shown that this scooter was not connected to the collision.”
On Tuesday last week, a 75-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of section 18 GBH, driving without due care and attention, and failing to stop.
Providing an update yesterday, Lancashire Police confirmed the 75-year-old man who was arrested has been released under investigation.