A motorist has saved his rotting car from the scrapheap after leaving it in the same parking spot for years.
The abandoned motor – in the city of Zoetermeer, western Netherlands – had been earmarked for the dump after police spotted it.
Pictures of the 18-year-old Vauxhall Corsa show its interior covered in thick mould all over the dashboard and the seats.
Local police officer Rob Doorneveld revealed on Twitter that he and a colleague had marked the car for removal, giving the owner two weeks to collect it.
Rob wrote on Twitter: “Lots of moulds on the inside. Car is stickered and will be removed soon. Owner has been notified.”
One neighbour – named only as Lennart, 18 – told local media: “I used to park my car right next to the Corsa. I care a lot about my car and want to avoid scratches on its paint at all costs.”
“The Corsa has been there for some years so I always chose the spot right next to it.
“I don’t want my car’s paint damaged by any motorist opening a door in a careless way.”
But with just hours to go before it was towed away, the car was mysteriously collected and moved by its owner.
A spokesman for the city council said: “We issued 125 such warnings last year. Eventually, 40 vehicles had to be hauled off since 85 of the affected cars were removed by their owners in time.”
The city charges the owners of the cars EUR 350 (GBP 306) if a car has to be removed.
Taking it to a car dump costs EUR 13,50 (GBP 11) per day.
If owners do not claim their vehicles within 13 weeks, they are auctioned off or destroyed.
