Driver leaves Audi illegally parked for days - so traders set up around it

Determined market traders in Whitby set up their stalls around an illegally parked car that had been left for days over the Bank Holiday weekend.

The white Audi had been parked illegally in the middle of Market Place during the long weekend marking the Queen's Platinum Jubilee celebrations. It is understood the car appeared on Thursday night and didn't get collected until Saturday lunchtime.

The traders decided not to let the stranded motor get in the way of business and set up their stalls around it, Teeside Live reports. But the owner would have been in for a nasty shock when they did collect it, as a total of three parking tickets are believed to have been plastered on it.

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The owner of The Old Silver Grid cafe pays to set up tables in the area and the market traders also pay to sell goods from there on certain days. Don Greenwood, who lives in an apartment overlooking Whitby's Market Place, said the parking situation in the area is "a nightmare at the best of times". He said signs clearly state that it is a pedestrian zone and no parking is allowed.

Don added: "There was a lot of people finding it very amusing." He said: "It is clearly marked, there are two big signs. Apparently, when the owner returned, he said he didn't realise it would cause so much disruption."

However, he said on a serious note he felt sorry for the business owners because they are trying to get back on their feet following the Covid lockdown and things like this don't help. He said: "I personally think it should have been towed away after they didn't comply with the first ticket."