UK town fury as entire street blocked by hoarder’s rusty cars despite him not living there

Residents living in Croydon have slammed the council for failing to crack down on classic cars clogging up Thornton Heath streets for years. According to the locals, all the cars belong to the same person, a former resident of Norbury Road who has now moved but left an array of vehicles behind. 

The residents alleged that the council's inability to permanently move the cars has allowed the owner to “hoard” vehicles and act as though they can do what they like regardless of the effect on neighbours, reports MyLondon. 

It is claimed the classic cars all belong to the same person, a former resident of Norbury Road who has now moved but left an array of vehicles behind. 

An attempt to clear them away after the council identified them as 'abandoned' failed when the former resident claimed them all as his, meaning they couldn't be classed as abandoned.

The extensive collection of classic cars, bikes, and even a boat—many of them rusted—has occupied space on Livingstone Road and Norbury Road for years, according to residents. 

Locals report that over the past 10-20 years, approximately 18 different vehicles have been parked at any given time across the two roads and on the driveway of the property he occupied, which has since been boarded up.

Residents told the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) they have had enough. 

According to Thornton Heath Councillor Karen Jewitt, a lot of the cars are not roadworthy and parked illegally.

On a visit to the area last week, one Livingstone Road resident told the LDRS: "There are people on this road who say that it has been going on for 20 years. Everyone's had enough.

"People come down and take photos of the cars all the time because they think they're collector's items. They're not, they're just falling apart."

One young resident living on Norbury Road told the LDRS: "I've been here most of my life and I've always just known him as that man on the corner.

"He just parks his cars wherever people will allow it. I don't mean allow it by giving their permission, it's just they won't kick up a fuss."

Posts from residents complaining about this issue on a Thornton Heath community Facebook page date back to at least 2019. Residents say the council has previously removed some cars from the road, only for them to return in the months following.

More recently, the council placed notices of removal on each of his cars parked on the road but the cars have not been removed, however the notices appear to have been taken off.

A spokesperson for Croydon Council said: "At the beginning of June 2024, the council, responding to complaints from local residents, took action to tackle abandoned vehicles on the public highway.

"The owner of these vehicles claimed all of the cars identified by the council which prevented us from removing them under the abandoned vehicle process. The council is now pro-actively seeking alternative arrangements to deal with this issue."