A WOMAN was left stunned after her stolen car was found 26 years later but she was the one facing a hefty fine for it.
Emi Carrasco thought it was all a joke after her vehicle was found upside down in a dried-out marsh in Spain.
Jam PressEmi’s stolen car was found upside down in the Riudecanyes marsh in Spain[/caption]
She last saw her Opel Kadett on August 5 1997 before it was pinched during a family day out at the beach.
Emi reported it as missing to the police at the time, and after no updates from the police, she forgot all about it.
But authorities in Catalonia contacted her to say it was found.
She was instructed to remove the vehicle from the Riudecanyes marsh or risk facing a hefty fine.
“I thought it was a joke,” the woman said.
Emi, who is originally from France, bought the car with her husband Manolo after their wedding.
It was the first car they bought together and had sentimental value to her.
She realised it was nicked when her nephew forgot to take his flip-flops to the beach and they went back to get them.
The car remained hidden in the water for nearly 30 years until the drought hit.
After she was threatened with a fine, Carrasco was able to show the authorities that she filed a police report at the time of its theft.
Following the call, she went to the marsh with her husband and found the vehicle’s documents inside the wreckage.
They also found a jacket and her nephew’s forgotten flip-flops.
The local police, who are now responsible for removing the car from the muddy marsh, said they have opened an investigation to find the person responsible for the theft.
It comes after a disabled pensioner claimed he was given “zero minutes” to buy a parking permit before being slapped with a £100 fine.
Derrick Walker, 73, was handed a hefty penalty charge for taking too long to register on the car park’s app but claims that nobody could reasonably do so in the time allowed.
Mr Walker was stung for the sum after stopping off at an Excel Parking Services site in Worksop, Nottinghamshire.
He took 18 minutes to download the company’s app and enter his bank details, only to receive a fine notice stating that the maximum time allowed in the car park was “zero minutes”.
Excel said it was “satisfied” that he had breached their terms and conditions and that the signage on the site stated that customers have five minutes to purchase a permit, but he rejects this completely.
Mr Walker told The Sheffield Star: “I was attempting to register on my mobile and set up payment with HSBC, which I would argue would take an IT-literate person more than zero minutes.
“I have no confidence in anything that Excel Parking does.”
Indeed, he was so outraged that he reportedly lodged an appeal with the Independent Appeals Service, though this was apparently unsuccessful.
The service is run by the International Parking Community organisation, which is funded by parking firms including Excel and counts Excel director Simon Renshaw-Smith among its steering committee.
The IPC disputes that any appeal was made and say they have no record of Mr Walker’s case.