Marcus Jordan’s lost bike

THE Town Hall has apologised after a “breakdown in communication between our departments” led to a tenant’s £10,000 off-road quad bike being impounded and destroyed.

The four-wheel “all-terrain vehicle” was slapped with a “B-notice” for being parked without registration plates showing in bays off Wellesley Road, Queens Crescent.

But its owner’s emails to the Town Hall’s contractor Veolia got lost in the system and the council said the bike had been marked abandoned and crushed up at the Regis Road pound within days of it being towed.

Owner Marcus Jordan said: “My main issue is my bike was a non-runner when purchased as a restoration project for personal and future business usage.

“It is a four-wheel promotional vehicle for my business, extremely important to any future earning. It is a vehicle made for on- or off-road use and does not need a registration plate unless being driven on a public road, which it was not.

“The claims of being abandoned are simply ridiculous, as I was actively working on this project daily, then weekly as I awaited replacement parts. I truly believe it was sold for a profit, as destruction in one day is highly unlikely.”

He added that he was looking for some sort of financial compensation.

The council has written to Mr Jordan explaining what happened as part of a complaints process.

The letter said: “We prefer to find the owner of a potentially abandoned vehicle and resolve the matter rather than take the final step to remove and destroy. For this reason, Environment Services gave additional time for the owner to come forward before instructing the contractor.

“Unfortunately, Environment Services had not been made aware you had made contact until we received your email via Veolia’s contact centre on August 28.”

A Camden Council spokesperson said: “We extend our apologies to Mr Jordan for any stress caused by the destruction of his vehicle. We take action on abandoned vehicles very seriously, and as this vehicle was parked on public land without registration plates it could have reasonably been removed or destroyed.

“We did issue a notice for the owner to move it, but on this occasion an internal miscommunic­ation meant that our removal team did not receive the response. We have advised Mr Jordan on how to make a claim for compensation.”