Goole man fined for abandoning car in town for over five months

A man from Goole has been prosecuted for abandoning a car in a town street for more than five months. Antony Smith, of Kingsway, was charged with abandoning a motor vehicle after he left a gold Aixam car on Kingsway.

The car was first reported to East Riding of Yorkshire Council in March 2024. The case was heard at Beverley Magistrates’ Court on 8th January.

Smith did not attend and the case was proven in his absence. He was fined £660 and was ordered to pay £729 costs and a £264 victim surcharge.

The car was removed by the council and later destroyed after Smith did not come forward to claim it. The court heard the Aixam car, first registered in 2004, was first reported as abandoned to the council in March last year.

Streetscene enforcement officers at the council made multiple attempts to contact the owner, Smith, and ask him to move the car to private land, but it never happened.

Smith was given the chance to pay a £200 fixed penalty for the offence by the council, but he failed to pay.

During the investigation the car’s tax and MOT ran out and it suffered damage. The vehicle was then removed by the council in August 2024 and the case was taken to court.

Carl Skelton, director of streetscene services at East Riding of Yorkshire Council, said: “Abandoning any vehicle can cause a nuisance to residents or become a hazard to safety.

“In most cases we can resolve these situations by contacting the owners and asking them to remove their vehicles, but in cases like this we have to intervene.”

The council deals with vehicles which may be abandoned on both public and private property.

Officers investigate and always contact the registered owners to establish whether vehicles are abandoned.

As a result of investigations, most vehicles are removed by owners, only a few have to be removed by the council.

Owners can be issued with a £200 fixed penalty notice for the offence.