Faced with council workers about to tow away his car, businessman David Green didn't waste his breath complaining - he simply lay down in the road.

It was by chance that Mr Green, 58, caught the men winching his vehicle as he left his flat in Belsize Park for a doctor's appointment.

Angered at the council's apparent heavy-handedness, he lay in front of the tow truck for 30 minutes while the street became snarled up with increasingly agitated drivers who could not get past.

"I lay in front to stop it driving away, to show them I was really serious," said Mr Green. "I had just left my flat and saw the car in the air. They said because it had already been lifted off the ground they could not put it back down.

"This seemed very unreasonable, so I tried to stop them taking it away by lying in the road. It seemed to me the sensible thing for them to do would be to put it back.

"I really didn't want the hassle of having to go and collect it. The car wasn't causing any obstruction at all. Even passers-by were saying the council's actions were extraordinary.

"After a while it became clear they didn't have the authority to stop my car being towed, so I gave up. I must say they were very polite throughout."

Mr Green sent off for a new parking permit at the beginning of the month, but had not received it when his old permit expired.

He said: "I went away on Saturday (23 April) and came back on Wednesday evening. Seeing I had not received my new permit, I left a note in the car window the following morning, saying 'permit applied for' and the address of my flat."

But yesterday afternoon, parking wardens paid no heed and ordered his Volkswagen Golf to be taken away to be impounded at Kentish Town.

"They said they had seen the note but had decided nevertheless to take the car away," he added. "I could see they might want to leave me a ticket but taking the car away was just the bridge too far."

Mr Green went to Camden council to buy a £90 permit in person before picking his car up from the pound and paying a ?200 release fee. He said: "I called the council and they said whatever happened to my original application, I would have to make a new one.

"I shall now be writing to the council telling them I expect to be reimbursed."

A spokesman for Camden was unavailable for comment.

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