Tiles thrown off Tiverton car park roof

Witness believes youths were responsible

Tiles removed from the top floor of a multi-storey Devon car park are believed to have been thrown to the ground below by youths.

A witness, who did not want to be named, said he believed teenagers had managed to remove roof tiles from the top floor of the Phoenix House Car Park, next to Tiverton’s Premier Inn and Mid Devon District Council’s headquarters.

The tiles were thrown onto the ground below, smashing as they hit the floor after the estimated 25-foot drop.

The witness said he spotted “youths indiscriminately throwing slates from the top level of the Phoenix Lane multi-story car park and landing on the down ramp immediately adjacent to the entrance”.

“A drop of about 25-feet, I believe, which presents a real risk of causing substantial vehicle damage or much worse serious physical injury to any car park user.”

He added that he had tried to ensure no cars were damaged, and also “pointed the risk out to two separate families with young children in the immediate vicinity”.

The witness said he and a Mid Devon district councillor had previously witnessed a similar incidence of vandalism last year, at which time they were “intimidated by members of a group causing the damage”. 

“There was an implied threat made towards me when they realised I was speaking to the police after making an emergency call,” the witness said about the 2024 incident.

“The police took around 30 minutes to respond to that call, and I also returned to Phoenix House to advise councillors who were leaving a meeting that there was a risk associated with entering the car park.”

The car park is owned by Mid Devon District Council, and the witness said he had alerted both its chief executive, Stephen Walford, and leader, Luke Taylor (Liberal Democrat, Bradninch).

“I firmly consider there is an ongoing and serious safety risk to users of the multi-storey car park that requires urgent attention,” the witness added.

A spokesperson for Mid Devon District Council said the authority was “aware of the recurrent issue”.

“The top three levels of the car park are closed and have been for some time,” the spokesperson said.

“Additional security measures are being put in place for the short term. In the longer term, options are being assessed to seal off these floors.

“We have repetitively reported these issues to our local police officers and requested additional patrols.

“Users of the car park are asked to notify the police if they see any anti-social behaviour.”