Shola Lee
When you hear the words 'super valet' you assume your car is being treated like royalty, not being smashed up on a 60-mile joyride.
Unfortunately, that's what happened to Kevin Murphy, 77, after he left his Mercedes at a Runcorn carwash on 13 March.
The icing on the cake? The valet-turned-joyrider, Omid Abas, 41, hasn't even passed his driving test.
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Speaking of the incident that left his 30-year-old, limited edition car badly damaged, Murphy said: "It was a cherished and prized possession.
''Every serviced piece of work was always done on it by Mercedes and I devoted a lot of my effort to keeping the car in pristine condition."
Murphy even made sure the car was mostly chauffeur-driven to keep it looking fresh off the lot.
So, you can imagine how 'incredibly upset' he was when he found out about that the 'super valet' he'd requested turned into a literal car crash.
In fact, the whole ordeal left the 77-year-old feeling 'vulnerable' and 'intimidated'.
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"I am now incredibly cautious about who I trust my vehicles with. With regards to any other changes to my quality of life, I had to devote time to locating another vehicle to obtain spare parts. This is a very time-consuming and difficult process. I am worried that the car will be a write-off."
Murphy now expects to 'pay around £5,000' of his own money to have it repaired.
If at this point you're wondering what happened to Abas following the incident? Well, he was taken to a magistrates court in Warrington and pleaded guilty to aggravated vehicle taking and driving without a license or insurance.
His punishment was a 12-month ban from driving, which seems counterintuitive given that he didn't have a licence in the first place.
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He was also sentenced to 12 weeks in prison, suspended for a year, 150 hours of unpaid work, and £213 in costs.
However, Judge Mark Hadfield was unconvinced by Abas's defence: "I am afraid I do not accept that you thought you had the consent of the owner of the vehicle – particularly when you intended to drive from Runcorn to your home in Stockport."
Surprisingly, Murphy and Abas are actually on good terms now, with defence lawyer Philip Green saying of Abas: "He shows a lot of remorse and this appears to be genuine remorse.
“Happily, notwithstanding the offences, the victim in this case and the defendant remain on good terms."
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We're not sure we'd have the same reaction, but each to their own.
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