Man in dispute with Wigan Council after van crashes into parked car

Andrew Birtles witnessed the crash outside his home in Hamilton Street on the morning of Tuesday, June 22.

As Andrew, 37, is disabled with a chronic fatigue condition, he needs his car to get around and said he "couldn't afford this to happen".

Andrew's car had to be written off due to the damage

As the total damage to his Kia Sportage was more than £12,000, the car was written off as the damage would have costed more than the vehicle's value.

This left him without any mode of transport for almost two days while he waited for a hire car.

Andrew's car after the incident

Damage caused to the council's van
Although Andrew was paid out by the council's insurance, who accepted liability, he claims that the local authority have not accepted responsibility nor shown him an independent review of the incident.

In addition to this, Andrew had to reimburse himself around a thousand pounds worth of damage to uninsured items inside his vehicle.

Andrew said: "The council are not showing me their independent investigation, they're not saying anything at all.

"I literally seen it happen in front of my eyes [...] it could have quite easily been fatal if someone was walking past at the time.

"There are two schools on my street, so it also could have been a case of several injuries to kids."

Andrew's car was thrown into his neighbours wall due to the impact

Andrew's neighbour's ruined wall
A Wigan Council spokesperson said: “The safety of all Wigan borough residents and employees is a priority for us and we are fully committed to understanding the circumstances which led to this incident.

“A thorough investigation is currently ongoing and therefore it would be inappropriate to comment any further at this time.”

The incident occurred around 10.30am on Tuesday, June 22