A “DISGRACEFUL” council took away and destroyed a resident’s car with no legal justification, a watchdog claims.

Lewisham Council has been criticised for destroying the limited edition 1987 Mazda coupe in 2007.

Report writer Anne Seex said: “The way that the council dealt with this complaint was disgraceful”.

She also criticised the “incorrect and seriously misleading” information it had provided to her during her investigation.

The owner, referred to in the report as Mr B, had left his car in a private parking space outside his flat without valid car tax while he waited for a replacement part.

But on August 7 at around 8am the car was removed by a council pick-up truck.

By 11am Mr B was at a council depot trying to get his car back but could get nobody to help.

He left his telephone number and asked for someone in authority to contact him but no-one did.

At 9.40am the next day the manager telephoned Mr B and told him that his car had been destroyed.

Mr B says that he was laughed at when he said he was going to complain.

The ombudsman found that the council had no proper legal basis or justification for removing and destroying the car.

Ms Seex said the council “could not show what its policy was at the time and the procedures that it had did not comply with the law or government guidance.”

She claims officers showed “contempt” towards the owner’s efforts to retrieve his car and failed to have criteria for when a car should be destroyed.

Finding maladministration causing injustice, the ombudsman ordered the council to apologise, pay £2,000 to the owner, publish a policy and procedure for dealing with untaxed and abandoned vehicles and ensure employees act within the law.

A Lewisham Council spokesman said: “We have received a copy of the ombudsman’s report and are in the process of actioning the recommendations made.

“We are apologising to Mr B privately and are arranging for him to receive compensation.”