Eastbourne man fined for selling cars in lay-by

AN EASTBOURNE man has been fined for using a lay-by on a public highway to sell cars.

Russell Nokes, of Phoenix Drive, displayed two vehicles for sale in a lay-by on Eastbourne Road in Pevensey Bay in November.

Wealden District Council said it decided to prosecute after receiving complaints that the cars were blocking access to parking for the nearby public footpath and fields.

Nokes pleaded guilty to illegally exposing vehicles for sale on the highway when he appeared at Eastbourne magistrates court on June 30. He was fined £115 and ordered to pay £247 costs.

The prosecution came under the nuisance parking provisions of the Clean Neighbourhoods and Environment Act 2005.

The offence of selling vehicles on the road is intended to target those people who run a business selling motor vehicles and use the road as a mock showroom.

It is not intended to target individual private sellers of single vehicles, as an offence is only committed when there are two or more vehicles being offered for sale for the purposes of a business.

Councillor Sylvia Tidy, Wealden’s cabinet member for environmental services, said after the hearing, “The placing of cars for sale on the public highway for extended periods of time causes a significant nuisance to local residents.

“In many cases, they take up valuable parking spaces and prevent residents from going about their daily lives.

“A business selling cars should not use the public highway as its own showroom.”

^{STORY SOURCE : EASTBOURNE HERALD 14 JULY 2010}