A father has said that he had his campervan seized while he was still sleeping inside, and now he's homeless.
James Brogan, 37, from Leek in Staffordshire, was fast asleep while stationed in a car park when DVLA officers clamped his vehicle.
The father-of-one said he was in his undergarments as bailiffs seized the VW camper, which had no insurance, tax, or MOT.
Mr. Brogan refused to leave his vehicle and fought with the DVLA enforcement team before he was subsequently arrested by officers.
The stand-up comic, who was eventually freed without facing any charges, says that having his vehicle seized was one of the "worst" experiences of his life.
"Some random person has gone through all of my belongings; my mother's ashes are still in the van, and it's going up for auction," he told a newspaper outlet.
Mr. Brogan, a Universal Credit recipient, was initially asked to pay £270 to retrieve his vehicle; however, the sum owing has since escalated to £500, and it continues to rise daily.
However, the documents that are required to unlock the van, including his driver's licence, remain inside, and the van will be auctioned off in less than a month.
Now, the father is sofa-surfing while fighting to have his van released before time runs out.
Mr. Brogan supposedly tried contacting the DVLA directly, but he "can't tax it over the phone" and all of his possessions, including his ID, are "in the van," so he hasn't been able to continue with the process of proving his identity.
He said, 'I feel the lowest of the low. Nothing like this has happened before.
'It was 11 a.m. the morning it happened. I do comedy gigs in the evening so I was still asleep when the DVLA clamped my van.'
"My little boy is absolutely devastated," said Mr. Brogan, whose son has autism and is seven years old. Because the van is bright green, he adores it. We use it for holiday camping and fishing trips.
'I haven't been able to see my son for Christmas this year. Usually, I park my van outside my ex-wife's house every Christmas so I can be near him on the big day.'
Mr. Brogan clarified that he used some of the inheritance money he had received after his mother's death to buy the van after his divorce from his son's mother was finalised.
Before experiencing a severe depressive episode, he was employed as an electrician. He stated, "I don't live in a van for my own comfort or benefit—I would love to live in a house, but I can't afford one."
'I've had to make a lot of sacrifices to live in a van. I get my food from the food bank and I survive on £300 a month as I establish myself as a comedian.'
A vehicle should be insured, made safe, and fit for the road, yet sometimes desperate people will do desperate things.
Is this man deserving of our sympathy? There will, of course, be a range of viewpoints on this. Even though the law applies to everyone, some people won't feel sympathy for him, while others will. This is because sometimes people can't afford to do everything that they should, particularly in light of the rising cost of living and the fact that our government gives to illegal immigrants before they would ever consider giving to their own.
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