Parking fines greet whale rescue teams
Published: Tuesday, 24 January, 2006, 09:33 AM Doha Time
Gulf Times
LONDON:
Volunteers who attempted to save the whale have received parking fines totalling £300.
Members of British Divers Marine Life Rescue spent Friday and Saturday trying to rescue the stranded creature from the shallow waters of the Thames. Many of them parked their cars in the city before rushing to the river to help lift the northern bottlenose whale on to a barge and keep it doused with water. The whale died on Saturday night after its condition deteriorated.
The divers later returned to their vehicles to find parking tickets on their windscreens. The BDMLR has advised its volunteers to appeal. Tony Woodley, a director of the charity, said: “Parking tickets are an unfortunate thing to come back to, particularly after we had tried our best to rescue the animal. We are hoping to get them waived.”
A Westminster council spokesman said its parking department would be “able and happy” to use its discretion to consider waiving the fines.
Meanwhile a tabloid has launched a fundraising appeal to save the skeleton of the whale.
“We have teamed up with experts and conservationists to help preserve the skeleton for crucial scientific research,” said The Sun, which hopes to raise £10,000.
“We also want to provide a lasting tribute to the whale that captivated the world by swimming up the Thames into central London.” it said.
The northern bottle-nosed whale, which the Sun nicknamed “Wally” and said was an adolescent female, belongs to the reigning British monarch under an ancient salvage law passed in 1324, the newspaper said.
“So we have joined forces with Her Majesty’s Receiver of Wrecks, who is responsible for dead whales in UK waters, and the Natural History Museum to save Wally’s bones from an anonymous grave,” it said. – Agencies
Gulf Times
LONDON:
Volunteers who attempted to save the whale have received parking fines totalling £300.
Members of British Divers Marine Life Rescue spent Friday and Saturday trying to rescue the stranded creature from the shallow waters of the Thames. Many of them parked their cars in the city before rushing to the river to help lift the northern bottlenose whale on to a barge and keep it doused with water. The whale died on Saturday night after its condition deteriorated.
The divers later returned to their vehicles to find parking tickets on their windscreens. The BDMLR has advised its volunteers to appeal. Tony Woodley, a director of the charity, said: “Parking tickets are an unfortunate thing to come back to, particularly after we had tried our best to rescue the animal. We are hoping to get them waived.”
A Westminster council spokesman said its parking department would be “able and happy” to use its discretion to consider waiving the fines.
Meanwhile a tabloid has launched a fundraising appeal to save the skeleton of the whale.
“We have teamed up with experts and conservationists to help preserve the skeleton for crucial scientific research,” said The Sun, which hopes to raise £10,000.
“We also want to provide a lasting tribute to the whale that captivated the world by swimming up the Thames into central London.” it said.
The northern bottle-nosed whale, which the Sun nicknamed “Wally” and said was an adolescent female, belongs to the reigning British monarch under an ancient salvage law passed in 1324, the newspaper said.
“So we have joined forces with Her Majesty’s Receiver of Wrecks, who is responsible for dead whales in UK waters, and the Natural History Museum to save Wally’s bones from an anonymous grave,” it said. – Agencies
posted by Neil Herron at 2:03 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home