Photo: carbuyer.co.uk
There is a widely held belief that bird poop on your person, car or other belongings will bring you good luck and that the more birds, the luckier you’re about to get. That definitely doesn’t apply to a man from Southend, UK.
Scott Coltart tells the local media, as cited by Fox News, that he had parked his car outside his house, as he always does. When the parking officers came, his valid parking permit was in the windshield but had been partially covered by pigeon droppings. Believing to be out of date, they issued him a fine of £158.
So far, nothing out of the ordinary. However, Coltart says he immediately rushed outside when he noticed the officers, wiped the windshield and showed them that the permit was still valid. Any other decent person would have torn the paper with the fine at this point, but not these guys.
“If you just moved your head slightly, you could clearly see the permit was in date,” Coltart explains. “Regardless, I immediately wiped the poop away but the man said it was too late and gave us the ticket. He was very rude as he slapped it on the windscreen and just said to take it up on appeal.”
Coltart appealed the fine with the Southend Council, which agreed with him that the incident was “unfortunate” and probably not his fault. Still, they upheld the fine and told him he would have to pay it. Coltart appealed for the second time and was told bailiffs would be sent at his home to collect the full amount in a few days’ time.
As you can imagine, the dude is not happy. And he has every right to be upset: he had a valid permit and can’t understand the injustice of being forced to pay a fine because bird poop dropped on the windshield, briefly covering it.
The only ray of hope now comes from a Southend Council spokesman saying, “We are currently discussing this claim with our contractor and will be in touch with the residents directly.” Going to the media with his story probably helped.
So far, nothing out of the ordinary. However, Coltart says he immediately rushed outside when he noticed the officers, wiped the windshield and showed them that the permit was still valid. Any other decent person would have torn the paper with the fine at this point, but not these guys.
“If you just moved your head slightly, you could clearly see the permit was in date,” Coltart explains. “Regardless, I immediately wiped the poop away but the man said it was too late and gave us the ticket. He was very rude as he slapped it on the windscreen and just said to take it up on appeal.”
Coltart appealed the fine with the Southend Council, which agreed with him that the incident was “unfortunate” and probably not his fault. Still, they upheld the fine and told him he would have to pay it. Coltart appealed for the second time and was told bailiffs would be sent at his home to collect the full amount in a few days’ time.
As you can imagine, the dude is not happy. And he has every right to be upset: he had a valid permit and can’t understand the injustice of being forced to pay a fine because bird poop dropped on the windshield, briefly covering it.
The only ray of hope now comes from a Southend Council spokesman saying, “We are currently discussing this claim with our contractor and will be in touch with the residents directly.” Going to the media with his story probably helped.
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