A dad was left fuming after the council refused to compensate him after smashing his car window with a lawnmower.
Jay Elton, 31, woke up on Monday 6 September to find his car window inexplicably shattered and he immediately went to check his doorbell's CCTV footage to try and find out more.
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Elton, from Willerby in Hull, then found that the damage had been caused by a council lawnmower, which had been cutting the grass in his area that morning.
Watching the footage, he said it looked as though something got stuck in the gears of the lawnmower, and was then launched into his car window.
This ended up shattering the window, in turn causing £550 worth of damage - which Elton says he is having to pay, despite it not being his fault.
The dad-of-two claims the CCTV clip also showed the council worker returning with stones from his front garden, placing them around his car to cover up what had happened.
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Elton said: "It was really deceitful, he was trying to make it look like it was our fault in some way."
He approached East Riding of Yorkshire Council, but was told they will not be compensating him.
The council also said they deny liability, as the operative had made necessary checks to ensure there were no hidden objects in the grass.
Elton, however, argues his video footage proves otherwise, saying: "I put an insurance claim in and found out yesterday that I will not be getting it because they claim he had checked the area before mowing the area. But I can see in my camera that he did not."
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"I feel really sad as a council taxpayer that this is how we are treated.
"Accidents are accidents, we can all live with them, but this sly sneaky behaviour is not acceptable and not for council taxpayers."
Now Elton says he has to pay £550 himself, and has to sell his five-year-old daughter's pony so that he can afford to get his car's window replaced.
"I have had to walk my daughters to school in the rain because the car window is broken," he continued.
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"It's been raining and the back of the car would get soaking wet because there is no window there."
Elton also says this is not the first time such an incident has taken place in the neighbourhood, as local resident Ken Garforth also had his vehicle's window smashed by a council lawnmower in the past.
However, unlike Elton, Garforth was successful in claiming insurance for his shattered window.
Now Elton says locals are worried that something similar could happen to them too.
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A spokesman for East Riding of Yorkshire Council said: "As with all claims for damage against the council, the claimant would be asked to contact the council's insurance section and put a claim in writing to them, along with any quotes, receipts or evidence to support the claim."
Featured Image Credit: Hull Daily Mail/MEN Media
Topics: UK News, council, News, cctv