by Alex Wellman A fuming motorist brought traffic to a standstill after he stole the keys from a truck which was towing away his car. The driver, 40, had illegally parked his car in Churchill Road, Willesden, on Friday April 3 when parkin

by Alex Wellman

A fuming motorist brought traffic to a standstill after he stole the keys from a truck which was towing away his car.

The driver, 40, had illegally parked his car in Churchill Road, Willesden, on Friday April 3 when parking attendants decided to tow away his dark Renault at around 4.40pm.

Despite offering to pay for his car to be removed there and then, the driver was told he would have to go to Brent Council's car pound in Fourth Way to get it back.

Witnesses say the man then became violent, stole the keys from the truck and sat in the van until police were called when he fled.

A nearby shopworker, who asked not to be identified, said: "It was amazing. This man got all aggressive with the towers and then just ran off leaving the van stuck there with his car on the back.

"It must have been there for at least an hour and a half before they could get spare keys to start it again and the traffic was backing up terribly. It caused mayhem."

The tow truck was not council owned and instead had been hired from ELV Ltd (End of Life Vehicle).

When told about the incident, the company had to bring spare keys all the way from their office in Edmonton during the rush hour to bring an end to the chaos.

A Brent Council spokesman said: "The incident on 3 April in Churchill Road, Willesden, involved Brent Council's parking contractor APCOA. At the moment the incident is being investigated by the police."

No arrests have been made and police are continuing with enquiries.

alex.wellman@archant.co.uk