by Alex Claridge

Canterbury City council is poised to write off a debt of £11,600 owed to it in parking tickets from a single car.

A report before members of the executive states that a Volkswagen Golf parked in Artillery Street between 2008 and the end of this year accrued 138 unpaid parking tickets.

Efforts to retrieve the money failed and the owner of the car ignored warning letters.

Even bailiffs hired by Canterbury City Council to try to force payment did not succeed.

Jim McDonald, the council's director of finance, says in his report to councillors: "All action had come to a standstill by the bailiff companies when it was revealed that the registered keeper was in receipt of various benefits and all warrants were returned as insufficient funds.

"In August 2010 one of the bailiffs clamped, removed and disposed of the vehicle.

"However, the vehicle is of little value and the council has only received a small amount of costs back from its disposal."

The debt owed over the Golf is £11,637 and the executive meets tonight when it will be asked to agree to write it off.

Mr McDonald's report adds: "Each year a small proportion of debts need to be written off.

"In view of there being no prospect of recovery of the debt reported, write-off is considered appropriate."

The report also says that the council has introduced new measures to ensure that single vehicles do not receive so many tickets in future.