A Gatwick worker was appalled on his daily commute when he discovered a road littered with excrement and food waste thrown over vehicles parked near the airport. The nauseating scene left the commuter, who preferred to stay anonymous, retching from the smell after exiting his car to take a closer look.
The cars, parked on Horley’s Povey Cross Road, were likely trying to avoid Gatwick Airport parking charges. The first vehicle was reportedly seen parked on double yellow lines, vandalised with eggs and smeared with what appeared to be horse manure, and had also been keyed.
“It looked like cow or horse manure and food waste. I got out and checked down the right hand side of it and it had been keyed,” the disturbed commuter told Surrey Live.
Following that incident, another car was found in an area reserved for permit holders with such a strong smell that the commuter believed it may have been covered in human waste. They said: “The stench was so bad, I was gagging, it must have been baking in the sun. I had to take a picture from a few meters away.”
After snapping some pictures, the commuter shared the incident in a private Facebook group. As reported by SurreyLive, one mother commented on the post revealing she took her family for a brief break following a bereavement and was unaware that parking over three hours with her blue badge wasn’t allowed.
The mum expressed her distress at the excrement and food waste left on her vehicle, but said the deliberate scratching of her car was utterly unacceptable. She confessed that she doesn’t have the means to fix the damage.
The commuter also noted that yellow parking fines were being slapped on the cars and then removed, potentially leaving the owners with hefty penalties without the reference numbers needed to settle the original charges.
Horley residents reacted with revulsion to the news, with one commenting on Facebook: “Is this really necessary. Ok so they have parked somewhere they shouldn’t have. But really going to that extreme,” while another questioned: “Doesn’t everyone along there have their own driveway anyway?” A third simply stated: “That is rank.”
Surrey Police were approached by SurreyLive regarding the situation, and a spokesperson confirmed that no reports of criminal damage had been filed. Reigate and Banstead Borough Council were also contacted but have yet to issue any statement.
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