Caravan Insurance

A parking desperado has boasted of his outlaw status after accruing more than £80,000 in fines over the course of two years.

Edinburgh-based Sandy Gillespie has been hit with hundreds of tickets in the last few years, but has steadfastly refused to pay the fines.

Now, as the city council seeks to penalise Mr Gillespie, he has taunted his pursuers, claiming there is little they can do to punish him for his parking offences.

The van driver, who has already attracted the attention of motoring groups for his brazen abuse of the parking system, says the council cannot seize goods from his home as he lives with his girlfriend and is careful about where he leaves his vehicle.

"There doesn't seem to be anything they can do to get the money off me. I have been getting tickets since I moved here four years ago," he told the Scotsman.

"I am probably nearing 1,000 tickets now and must owe the council around £80,000. It's hard to keep track because I've changed my van a few times to throw the wardens off."

Mr Gillespie is said to have switched his van six times - bringing with it its own administrative needs in terms of private van insurance - and is confident of evading censure.

The RAC Foundation is among those to publicly register its concern over the lack of penalties, calling on the law to impound his vehicle.