San Francisco parking tickets are bad? London Metropolitan Police blow up illegally parked car

Flag of the London Metropolitan Police
(courtesy: London Metropolitan Police)

Michael Raphel was in a hurry to catch a boat, so he parked near the Thames River in a zone marked by double yellow lines.

According to British driving code,

Double yellow lines indicate a prohibition of waiting at any time even if there are no upright signs.

The worst Mr. Raphel thought he was in for would be a parking ticket, so he locked his car and ran off to catch his boat. What Mr. Raphel did not realize is that he parked within a quarter mile of the Prime Minister's residence and where a parade of ex-servicemen and women were due to march to mark the end of the First World War. Add all of that information together with CCTV footage of him running away from his car and his Honda Civic Type R was history. When Mr. Raphel returned to his car at 2AM, he was told that two controlled explosions had been carried out on his vehicle. Raphel told the British paper the Oxford Mail,

They explained that because I was seen running from the car, and because of the parades the next day, it had heightened their suspicions. When I got back to the car, the driver and passenger windows had been blown out and the bonnet and boot had come open with the force.

It remains to be seen if Mr. Raphel's claim for his destroyed car will be paid out.

For more info: Read the full story at the Oxford Mail.

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