Nuisance car gets towed away after 22 months illegally parked on busy Blackpool street

Joan Murray said it ‘showed the power of the press’, when the abandoned car was removed after almost two years of calls to various agencies.

Joan, who lives on Beech Avenue, said: “After 22 months, finally it’s gone. I couldn’t believe it. I had been at Stanley Park for a coffee, and when I walked up the street I really couldn’t believe it had actually gone. I really can’t thank the Blackpool Gazette enough.”

Joan and he family had been in touch with Blackpool Council, the DVLA, and the police since the vehicle was dumped outside her house in September 2020.

Her neighbours had also made attempts to deal with the car, but nothing had worked.

“I turned to the press as a last resort as I just couldn’t cope with this any more. I’m so pleased it’s gone.

"It’s such a busy street, with a lot of cars but now at least we have a bit more room to park now.”

The car, which had no MOT, was dumped half-way up the pavement on Beech Avenue, with a note on the dashboard saying it had broken down. But nobody came back for it.

Her late husband, Michael, first called Blackpool Council in October 2020. He was told the car was registered as SORN (Statutory Off Road Notification), meaning it is not allowed to be on a public highway.

During 2021, Joan and her family made contact with the police and the DVLA, who both said it was down to the local authority to tow the car away.

Michael became very sick in May 2021. He was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, and had nurses and carers visiting most days.

Joan said: “It’s a very busy road and the poor nurses were having to park on another street. The ambulance had to park a long way from the house too. It was hard enough due to Covid restrictions, but this was all added stress.”

Michael died in December 2021. The grieving widow had a further blow when they held a funeral for in January, and the hearse couldn’t park outside the house.

“It was just so upsetting. I could see they had his photo in the back of the hearse, and I wanted to be able to stop and have a look, but I couldn’t. It had to park in the middle of this busy road, with traffic piling up behind us so we had to just make a dash for it.”

She said it was the ‘final straw’, and so in February, her daughter reached out to Scott Benton, MP for Blackpool South, for advice.

Chris Bates, a case worker for Scott Benton, said: ‘Given that the car has clearly been abandoned, responsibility for removing it should lie with Blackpool Council. They should remove and scrap the vehicle.’

Advice on the Government website states that local authorities must remove abandoned vehicles from roads and outdoor spaces. It says they can legally enter land (at a reasonable time) to investigate and remove abandoned vehicles.