A MAN is set to take legal action against the police and its contractors after his new car was taken away without his consent and allegedly damaged.

Martin Brown had just bought a Mazda MX5 when he parked it in the street near his home in Orford Road, Walthamstow.

The 32-year-old software engineer returned from a night out on October 17 to find his car was missing.

He reported it stolen, but was told the police had it removed as they believed it may have contained evidence necessary for a prosecution, following a brawl in the street while he had been out.

On October 22, he picked up the car from a pound in Enfield, only to find it covered in forensic dust with a large dent in the driver's side rear wing.

It cost Mr Brown £235 to repair the damage and a further £15 for specialist cleaning to remove the dust, but neither the police nor the contractors which removed it are accepting responsibility for the damage.

Police carried out an examination of the vehicle before taking it away and recorded minor scratches on the bodywork but no dent, suggesting the damage was done after the car was towed.

A Met staff member told Mr Brown that, under case law, the police cannot be held liable for damages caused by contract staff.

A spokesman for C&S Motors Ltd, who towed the vehicle, said the car was dropped off at the pound in the same condition as it was when it was picked up.

The company which stored the car, LAR Traffic Services in Enfield, is also not accepting liability for the damage.

Mr Brown said: “It is only a small amount of money but as far as I am concerned the police required the vehicle, they were the ones who took the decision to take it away and the responsibility for it should be theirs.”

“All I want is to be reimbursed for my costs to get the car repaired.”

A 16-year-old youth was taken to hospital with minor stab wounds following the brawl on October 17. Nobody has been arrested.

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