Owner fined for abandoning car on Derbyshire road

In July 2023, Bolsover District Council investigated a report of an abandoned vehicle on an access road to the rear of Sutton Hall Road, in Carr Vale. The vehicle was located and deemed to be a risk to public health due to its condition.

The vehicle was registered to Mark Walters of Sutton Hall Road and despite several opportunities, he failed to arrange for the removal of the vehicle. The defendant was offered a £200 fixed penalty notice to avoid prosecution but failed to pay it, so the Council took the matter to court and arranged for the removal and disposal of the vehicle.

The vehicle was abandoned contrary to section 2(1) of the Refuse Disposal (Amenity) Act 1978 and Derby Justice Centre handed the defendant a fine of £440 and a victim surcharge of £176, totalling £616.

Bolsover District Council’s Cabinet Member for the Environment, Councillor Anne Clarke said, “We gave the defendant every opportunity to remove his vehicle, but he chose to ignore our help and it has ultimately cost him more than three times what he would have originally paid.

“Abandoning a vehicle is an offence that spoils the environment for all, so let this serve as a warning to others that we take a zero tolerance approach on waste crime and we will take action where appropriate.”

You need to make a SORN (Statutory Off Road Notification) when you take a vehicle ‘off the road’ and you want to stop taxing and insuring it. Such vehicles should be kept on your private property or someone else’s with their permission.

Abandoning a vehicle is a serious offence which results in significant risk to the public and the environment. If you suspect a vehicle of being abandoned, please report it to the Council on www.bolsover.gov.uk or by calling 01246242424 and it will be investigated.