Liverpool grandfather ‘nearly died’ after ‘bullying’ bailiffs blocked his car despite deactivated badge | United Kingdom | News

Gordon Seager was taken to Arrowe Park Hospital in Liverpool after his car was blocked for non-payment of a parking fine. The 94-year-old grandfather ‘nearly died’ as he suffered a major panic attack caused by what his family said amounts to being ‘bullied’ by bailiffs, reports the Liverpool Echo. Mr Seager suffers from angina and lives on a dual pacemaker received a letter from Newlyn PLC, acting on behalf of the Wirral Council, threatening legal action for removing the clamp – even though the device was still attached to his car.

Vehicles with disability badges cannot legally be blocked, despite this Newlyn PLC did so on October 28, citing an unmatched parking ticket from March.

His daughter, Rachael, 43, said she found her father in bed and “thought he was dead”.

She said: “I walked in and he was having a panic attack. He had gone to his car and there was a clamp and a sign saying it was done at 7.18am.

“We’ve had no knocks on the door, no calls home, nothing. He has his disabled badges under his visor.

“He has his disabled badges under his visor. It is illegal to block a car with disabled badges.

“He was having an angina attack with the stress. He couldn’t breathe. He was panicking. He was hyperventilating and shaking uncontrollably. It was horrible.”

Rachael said her father missed a routine blood test because of the clamp and she was forced to miss three days of work to drive him to hospital appointments.

She called Newlyn PLC and said she had been told a member of staff had visited her father’s house on a date in September to warn him of the clamp and the £424 fine which he was accompanying – but she said when she checked her CCTV for that date, she found no one had called.

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Rachael also contacted the Wirral council parking service, but said the family had been “pushed back and forced between council and ushers”.

She said: “The next day we got a letter from the bailiffs saying my dad was charged with criminal damage because he cut the clamp off his car. At this point my dad had a major problem due to stress, turned blue – entered Arrowe Park Hospital and did not emerge until five days later.

“The hospital was amazing, the paramedics were amazing – I can’t thank them enough because we literally thought we were going to lose him.”

After sending her father’s medical documents to Newlyn via WhatsApp, the clamp was finally removed on November 15.

Rachael said her dad “never missed” a payment and would have paid it if he had known anything.”

She added: But the fact that he suffered this is unfair. It is intimidating and frightening the elderly.

“If my father didn’t have his family around him, it would have taken his life. His car is his last lifeline, his last link to independence, and doing that to him is cruel.

“All they did was bully and threaten an old man into trying to pay £424. I don’t want anyone going through what my dad had to go through, ever. It’s wrong. “

A Wirral Council spokesman said: ‘The council followed standard procedure after a parking penalty was properly served. Once the proof of vulnerability was submitted and confirmed, the sanction was lifted.