A WIDOW whose caravan was removed and destroyed by the city council had made ‘Lost caravan – please help’ posters.
Lily Chapman, of Heath Road, Upton had parked her mobile home on parish council land because her drive was not big enough.
So her caravan, which she says was worth £700 and contained a television and microwave, was towed away and crushed.
Lily, who lives with her 14-year-old daughter, lost her husband three years ago and has survived breast cancer.
She said: “Everybody parks their car there. It was out of the way.
“One day there was a big orange sticker on it saying it’s an abandoned vehicle.
“I rang the council and they said OK, as long as we know it belongs to someone, but that woman apparently never left my details anywhere.
“I went away on a trip to Germany with university and when I got back it was gone.”
Lily says the pressures of being a single mum supporting a child mean holidays abroad are not an option, so invested in a caravan.
She added: “I hadn’t even used it, I only had it for three weeks.
“They did not even find out who owned it.
“I made signs with ‘Lost caravan - please help’ on them. That’s how I found out the council had taken it.
“I may as well have torn up £700 in the street.”
Mike McGivern, spokesman for Chester City Council, said: “The caravan was parked on private land, without permission and blocking access.
“The parish council asked the city council to serve a notice and a 15 day notice was served on February 7.
“Ms Chapman admits she ripped up the notice.
“We could have removed the caravan on February 22 but gave an extra three days.
“We have no record of Ms Chapman calling the council and her account of what she claims she was told by a council officer does not correspond with our procedures for handling such calls.
“The contractors found nothing of value in the caravan, which Ms Chapman admits had a broken window.
“Ms Chapman made no contact or complaint until March 17, nearly a month after removal and many weeks after the notice was served.
“We are perfectly satisfied that we acted fairly and legally in removing this nuisance vehicle.”
Lily plans to apply for compensation.
