Sponsored by
Don't park in the lake . . . twice!
IF ANGLER Dave Loveday asks you to lend him your car, tell him to sling his hook.
That's because 67-year-old Dave has a tendency to park his cars... in lakes.
Once is bad enough but Dave, a retired taxi driver from Gleadless, has done it twice in the space of a year.
The first time it happened was during a match at Hayfield Fisheries in Doncaster.
Dave had drawn at the railway end of the lake where he was able to park up close to his peg. Alas, he forgot to engage the handbrake and his car rolled towards the water and was written off.
Dave said: "The car cost me 1,500 and it cost me 750 to hire a couple of divers to find it in the 12ft water so we could get it out. That was bad - but last time was even worse."
On the second occasion, Dave was on an outing to Lakeside Fisheries in Ranskill. It was so cold he decided to take a warm rest and grab a sandwich in a nearby pub.
When he came back from the boozer he parked his Ford Fiesta up close to where he was fishing. He sat for a while, warming himself from the heater with the engine running.
Then he spotted his mate further down the bank.
Now most people would learn a lesson from the Hayfield experience. But not Dave.
He leapt out of the vehicle and failed to engage the handbrake, again.
And after chatting with his mate for a full 20 minutes an express train swept by and Dave's attention was alerted when someone shouted that his car was moving - towards the water.
You've guessed the rest. Car number two was going for a swim.
"The first I knew was when someone started shouting, 'Hey up lover weerz thi car gooin?', said Dave.
"I reckon it was the vibrations from the train which set the car off rolling. I've had some stick I can tell you. I must have got 200 phone calls all from people asking if I could wash their car."
And what makes things worse for Dave is the second car was only insured third party.
"I think it must be my age, I'm getting really forgetful," he lamented. "But I always make sure the first thing I do now when I park up is set the handbrake and leave it in gear.
"It won't happen again."
Well, not until the next time, eh Dave?
Got a view? Add your comment below.
Buy The Star - Monday to Saturday - for local news, sport, features and ads. To subscribe CLICK HERE
READ MORE
Main news index
Your letters
Features
South Yorkshire's environmental news
Kids Zone
More business news
More Rotherham news
More Doncaster news
More Barnsley news
Latest sport
Email to a friend
Print this page
Looking for...
Featured advertisers
Jobs
Search for a job
Motors
Search for a car
Property
Search for a house
Weather for Sheffield
Friday 10 February 2012
Today
Fog
Temperature: -6 C to 0 C
Wind Speed: 14 mph
Wind direction: South east
Tomorrow
Sunny spells
Temperature: -2 C to -1 C
Wind Speed: 9 mph
Wind direction: South west
