Car abandoned on busy Blackpool street almost two years ago: "We just want it gone but nobody will take responsibility"

Joan Murray, 71, has been trying to get the Vauxhall shifted since September 2020, but nobody has removed the dumped vehicle.

The car, which has 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.

Joan, a retired civil servant, said: “It has just gone on all this time, and nothing's getting done. How can anyone just dump a car with no consequences? It doesn’t make sense.”

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.

But four months later, the abandoned car remains in place.

Joan said: “I know it’s just a parking spot, but it’s there all the time. My neighbours would have left space for nurses to park when my husband was sick, because they are considerate. But some random person has just left it and it’s there all the time. Nobody will even acknowledge anything. Someone has to be responsible.”

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.’

In an email sent to Joan’s daughter in February, Chris said: “We have now received a response from the DVLA. They have mentioned that removal of an abandoned vehicle is the responsibility of Blackpool Council. We have reiterated this point to Blackpool Council.”

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.

Blackpool Council have been contacted for a reply but have not yet responded.