Latest news with #CapitalCarBootSales
BBC News
18 hours ago
- Automotive
- BBC News
Gloucester Car Boot Sale returns after nails thrown at site
The new operator of a car boot sale site has thanked everyone who attended its first event, which was earlier postponed after what a "sabotage attempt".Gloucester Car Boot Sale was due to return under new operators Capital Car Boot Sales on 20 July, but was pushed back to 27 July when thousands of rusty nails were left at the site the day City Council said making theHempstead Meadows site safe again cost the taxpayer up to £25, space had to be found for sellers because far more than expected turned up, the council added. Capital Car Boot Sales expressed its "huge gratitude to all the buyers and sellers" who made the first market a success, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service."Customers have voted with their feet," the company from Stroud, who attended the car boot, told BBC Radio Gloucestershire: "It's really, really busy, there's loads of sellers, loads of buyers. I've got some books and some clothes for my son."In a social media post about the reopening, Gloucester City Council said it believed the scattering of nails across the site "may have been a sabotage attempt". "Gloucestershire Police has appealed for anyone with information or dashcam footage to come forward as soon as possible," the council said."As owners of the land, Gloucester City Council has had to spend in the region of £25,000 scaling up security measures, repairing fences and removing the nails from a wide area of the site to make it safe for visitors."Capital Boot Sales won the tender to run the market after its lease went up for renewal last winter, around the time the city council closed it to have work done on the area.
BBC News
20-07-2025
- Automotive
- BBC News
Hempsted Meadow car boot sale postponed due to rusty nails
The long awaited return of a city car boot sale has been postponed after thousands of rusty nails were found scattered across the site. Gloucester City Council (GCC) said it believed it was "a deliberate act of vandalism" on the Hempsted Meadow car boot site. It added it was now too dangerous to walk or drive on to the area. The council said a huge clear up operation was under way to remove the nails and the police had been Car Boot Sales, which operates the site, said the reopening had been rescheduled for 27 July and security would be stepped up ahead of it. GCC, which owns the site, closed the car boot over the winter for work on the area and because the lease was up for traders previously expressed concerns over the length of the closure. Jeremy Hilton, leader of GCC, condemned the "thoughtless and highly dangerous act of vandalism"."If it had not been found in time, we can only imagine what might have happened if nails had entered car tyres, or dogs were hurt," he said.A spokesperson for Capital Car Boot Sales, which was appointed as the site operator in May, said they were "massively disappointed" that the opening had been postponed. "It is incredibly sad that we have been forced to let down all the buyers and sellers who were planning to come along at this late stage, and we would like to apologise to all of them. "However, it has made us even more motivated to turn this eagerly awaited market into a huge success story that the people of Gloucester and surrounding areas can all enjoy together."
