VOTE: Outrage as treasured Wick family’s scooter vandalised

But, to rub salt in the wound, the mother-of-three was then forced to pay an added £150 for the police to carry out forensic investigation work on her ruined motor.

Derralyn White, of Pottersmead, Wick, had left her scooter – which is her family’s only form of transport – with a mechanic, and family friend, in Beconsfield Road, after it needed a simple repair to its speedometer.

However, to the Derralyn’s horror, her scooter was then targeted by vandals, who set it on fire, in the early hours of Monday, November 14.

A dismayed Derralyn said: “This is so unfair for me. I’m the victim of crime. I don’t understand why I should be paying for the police to take my scooter away for tests.

“My eyes went wide when they told me about it. I was completely shocked.

“I don’t know why they didn’t carry the works them out at the scene.

“This has been so painful for me, and the family. Our scooter is our only form of transport. I didn’t do anything wrong but the police are forcing me to pay to get my bike back.”

Derralyn’s scooter was taken to Westbourne Motors, in Fontwell, for police to carry out their investigation.

Officers told her that she would need to pay a £150 collection fee and a £10 storage fee for each day the bike is left at the garage.

Manager at the garage, James Butler, said he sympathised with Derralyn’s plight, and agreed to waive the added £10 a day storage cost.

He said: “I can’t take away the £150 call-out fee. This is something given to us by the police and obviously this is what we have to charge. One option she has is to go through the insurance company.”

However, Derralyn said that her insurance coverage did not cover fire and theft. So she has been left with the financial burden, which is now taking its toll.

“I have had to pay more than £200 to repair the scooter,” she said. “Money is tight for us and this is a very hard thing for me to do.”

A spokesman for Sussex Police said: “Sussex Police does not seek to profit from its vehicle recovery operation. A small portion of the fee is held by Sussex Police, but this does not meet the full costs of running the vehicle recovery office operation.

“Where an owner cannot be immediately identified or contacted, a vehicle is taken into safe storage by our contractor and the owner/keeper notified of its location. Normally, fees are recoverable by the vehicle owner through their insurance company.”

“Is it fair for the police to charge victims of crime a fee to take their vehicles away for forensic examination, adding to the upset they have already suffered?” Cast your vote in the panel to the right of the screen, and leave your comments below.