Businessman uses blow-up dolls in parking fines protest
The Argus
9th August 06
Traffic wardens are often the bane of people's lives but for one plumbing and heating firm they just won't go away.
Mike Gurney, 48, who runs Glowzone, a plumbing and heating company based in Beaconsfield Road, Brighton, has spent the past five years battling Brighton and Hove City Council because he claims parking tickets and charge certificates he has received are invalid.
He said the wardens ticket his eight vans and pass his shop so frequently he decided to dress blow-up dolls in traffic warden uniforms and place them in his shop window to scare them off. The tactic seems to have done the trick but Mr Gurney's fight with the council to withdraw fines totalling more than £11,000 is ongoing.
He is arguing that the wording on the parking tickets and the charge certificates is wrong, making them invalid. He has already paid £5,000 in fines and spent £12,000 in solicitors' fees in his fight against the council.
The council is also attempting to push Glowzone into liquidation to recoup the growing fines ñ which the company has collected as its fleet of vans respond to emergency jobs.
Mr Gurney has asked for permits for his vehicles and for the council to make allowances when there is no adequate parking while his employees are on an emergency job but he was only offered two permits even though he has eight vans.
He said: "We never used to see the wardens but now they are coming up four or five times a day. You should have seen their faces when they saw the dolls all squeezed in the window.
"If the council had been fair from day one none of this would have happened."
Sutton Solicitors, acting for Mr Gurney, has given the council until today to respond to a letter saying the tickets are not valid and to withdraw a statutory demand on the company which could lead to it being wound up in the High Court.
A spokeswoman for the council said: "The council is in talks with Glowzone's solicitors and we don't want to get drawn into discussing the case in the Press.
"If, once discussions are over, they still believe they have the legal grounds to pursue their complaint they should take it to the National Parking Adjudication Service instead of to the media."
9th August 06
Traffic wardens are often the bane of people's lives but for one plumbing and heating firm they just won't go away.
Mike Gurney, 48, who runs Glowzone, a plumbing and heating company based in Beaconsfield Road, Brighton, has spent the past five years battling Brighton and Hove City Council because he claims parking tickets and charge certificates he has received are invalid.
He said the wardens ticket his eight vans and pass his shop so frequently he decided to dress blow-up dolls in traffic warden uniforms and place them in his shop window to scare them off. The tactic seems to have done the trick but Mr Gurney's fight with the council to withdraw fines totalling more than £11,000 is ongoing.
He is arguing that the wording on the parking tickets and the charge certificates is wrong, making them invalid. He has already paid £5,000 in fines and spent £12,000 in solicitors' fees in his fight against the council.
The council is also attempting to push Glowzone into liquidation to recoup the growing fines ñ which the company has collected as its fleet of vans respond to emergency jobs.
Mr Gurney has asked for permits for his vehicles and for the council to make allowances when there is no adequate parking while his employees are on an emergency job but he was only offered two permits even though he has eight vans.
He said: "We never used to see the wardens but now they are coming up four or five times a day. You should have seen their faces when they saw the dolls all squeezed in the window.
"If the council had been fair from day one none of this would have happened."
Sutton Solicitors, acting for Mr Gurney, has given the council until today to respond to a letter saying the tickets are not valid and to withdraw a statutory demand on the company which could lead to it being wound up in the High Court.
A spokeswoman for the council said: "The council is in talks with Glowzone's solicitors and we don't want to get drawn into discussing the case in the Press.
"If, once discussions are over, they still believe they have the legal grounds to pursue their complaint they should take it to the National Parking Adjudication Service instead of to the media."
posted by Neil Herron at 4:16 AM
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