A MOTORIST hit out at “heavy-handed” council officials after being fined £582 fine for driving over a kerb to park on his driveway.

David Gordon, of Bunters Avenue, Shoebury, was hit with the fine after failing to put in a dropped kerb.

Southend Council is taking action against residents because of damage caused to paving and the cost of repairs.

Mr Gordon claimed he applied for a dropped kerb, but council officials dispute this and said he was the only person to have ended up in court over the matter.

He said: “It’s outrageous to be fined so much for parking outside my own house.

“I come home at 5am and it’s literally impossible to get parked on the road, so what option did I have?

“I think it is being very heavy handed.

Obviously I did it, so I had no choice, but to plead guilty.

“You can’t win with the council. It just seems like it is on a mission for revenue. It’s very heavy-handed.”

Mr Gordon was first warned about the issue in October. He said he then submitted plans to have the dropped kerb fitted in December, but the council claimed that never happened.

It said it cancelled the application process last month after not hearing from him and took him to court last week. The council is thought to be targeting 12 households in the borough where motorists are driving over pavements to reach driveways.

In 2014/15, the council handed out 230 warnings in relation to pathway crossing breaches after bringing in tougher rules.

Martin Terry, councillor responsible for transport, said: “If residents want to cross a footpath to park in front of their home, they must have a proper dropped kerb and go through the right process.

“Ignoring this results in broken kerbs and slabs which are dangerous trip hazards and cost the council significant amounts to replace. In this world of dwindling resources, we cannot and will not allow this to happen, so where we can gather evidence and have a good case we will take action.

Echo:

Mr Hasmi's Tudor Road property

'I've been made an example out of'

A MAN claimed he had been made an example of after being fined for failing to clear rubbish outside a property he owns.

Hussain Hasmi, of Westcliff Park Drive, Westcliff, received the £735 fine last week after failing to remove rubbish outside the property in Tudor Road.

In February, Southend Council announced it was to blitz of messy gardens and land, telling owners to clear up or risk being fined – or court action.

Mr Hasmi said: “I feel I’ve been made an example of.

“The council was talking about calling the police. I thought ‘what is this, a police state?’ “There’s not much I can say.

I had to pay the fine or risk a bigger one. Trying to talk to the council is like banging your head against a wall.”

Mr Hasmi said he tried to contact the authority to tell them the rubbish wasn’t his, as the Tudor Road property is build right on the pathway.

He said he finally got someone to clear the material, but the council had already removed rubbish by the time he secured help, and then summoned him to court.

The council disputed this, and said it cleared several lots of rubbish from outside the property and served Mr Hasmi with repeated warnings.

The authority sent 400 warning letters to messy landlords and 36 clean-up notices after that.

So far, Mr Hasmi has been the only one taken to court.