Violet Ecclestone, part 3

1.       The other Notice was issued under the Prevention of Damage by Pests Act 1949, section 4, in relation to the garden.

2.       I then went to the Citizens’ Advice Bureau with my mother and father to investigate these Acts.

3.       A man in the CAB read the small print and said that there was a right of Appeal to the Magistrates’ Court, but that it must be achieved within 21 days.

4.      He said that we had a right of Appeal because he looked up the law and said that the Council Notices had been issued wrongly. He said that the Council had got things mixed up and that both Notices were invalid, thus giving us a right of appeal.

5.      The right of Appeal under the Prevention of Damage by Pests Act 1949 lies within section 290 of the Public Health Act 1936. This is because removal of cars is regarded as constructional works.

6.       The right of Appeal under the Public Health Act section 83 lies within the Public Health Act 1936, section 300, sub-section 1(b) for inconsistencies to be determined in the Magistrates’ Court. Inconsistencies involved a mix-up between items in the house and items in the garden and works involving removal of only “unnecessary items” which is not only legally unspecific but out of context with section 83 in which the word “remove” is not mentioned, but only cleaning of interior surfaces.

7.       The Court regards the making of a complaint to be the bringing of the Appeal.

8.       We went to the King’s Lynn Magistrates’ Court and filled in the appropriate forms.

9.      A few days later, on 24 July 2007, we received letters from the Court confirming that both Notices were to be appealed.

      [Exhibit RAE3, letters from the Court dated 24 July 2007]

10. In August 2007 the manager of Norfolk County Council social services at Downham Market came to visit us at Spire View. I believe his name was Ian Pullen. He warned me that “they” were going to empty our house. He advised me to hide all valuables away and suggested that we hide them in the loft. We took his advice, the prayer book and paintings were put in the loft, but they were still taken. Negative statements were later made about this by the Chief Executive of the Council. Ian Pullen is now retired but Norfolk County Council cannot supply his address because they claim it would breach the Data Protection Act 1998.

[Exhibit RAE4, letter from Chief Executive of King’s Lynn and West Norfolk Borough Council, dated 06 July 2009]

11.  On 02 August 2007 we made a preliminary appearance at King’s Lynn Magistrates’ Court.

12.  The Appeal for the Public Health Act Notice was allowed on 30 August 2007 at the King’s Lynn Magistrates’ Court.

      [Exhibit RAE5, Letter from King’s Lynn Magistrates’ Court, dated 09 January 2008]

13.  The Court allowed our Appeal. The Council did not contest our Appeal being allowed at the time.

14.  The matter regarding the Prevention of Damage by Pests Act notice appeal was adjourned until 03 October 2007.

      [Exhibit RAE6, Court Register from King’s Lynn Magistrates’ Court dated 05     October 2012]

15.  The Appeal was allowed subject to the removal of cars and car parts from the front garden of the property.

16.  The cars were removed from the garden by December 2007 and the matter should have been complete.

17.  However, the Council – in a letter dated 11 January 2008 – put in writing that they had seen that the cars had been removed from the driveway.

      [Exhibit RAE7, Letter from Philippa Smith, Senior Environmental Health Officer,          King’s Lynn and West Norfolk Borough Council, dated 11 January 2008]

18.  They said that they still wanted to see inside the house even though the Notice issued under the Public Health Act had been revoked.

19.  Initially we denied them entry, but they returned later the same day saying that we had to give them right of entry or we would be prosecuted.

20.  We therefore felt that we had been bullied into allowing them entry.

21.  The council officers, whom I believe were Philippa Smith and one other officer, came into my property and said that I had not complied with the Public Health Act because I had not emptied the house.

22.  I told them that that was not a requirement of the Court.

23. They went away and the next thing I knew the Council sent a letter on 28 February 2008 stating that they had had a meeting and it was agreed at the meeting that they would clear both our house and our garden.

      [Exhibit RAE8, letter from Philippa Smith, Senior Environmental Health Officer,           dated 28 February 2008]

24.  At this point, I contacted my local MP, Henry Bellingham, advising him that as this contradicts a Court decision, the matter should be investigated by the Government Ombudsman. The Public Health Act 1936 section 302 states that if a Court varies or revokes a Council notice, the Council has a duty to comply with the order of the Court. The legal meaning of ‘order’ is the final decision of the Court. 

25.  Mr Bellingham asked for the originals of all my documents (not copies) to be sent to the Ombudsman.

26.  Mr Bellingham duly sent these documents off and I have not had the originals returned.

27. I asked Henry Bellingham to advise the Council that they cannot take any actions whilst the Ombudsman is investigating.

28. Many months later, the Ombudsman said that matters that have been before a Court are outside of his jurisdiction to investigate because he cannot get involved in the business of the Court. He confirmed that a Court decision is final. This is compliant with section 302 of the Public Health Act 1936.

      [Exhibit RAE9, letter from Local Government Ombudsman to Chief Executive,    King’s Lynn and West Norfolk      Borough Council dated 28 June 2008 and 07    November 2008]

29. We heard no more until my father died on 22 November 2008.

     

      [Exhibit RAE10, copy of death certificate for Albert Edward Ecclestone, dated 18          March 2009]

30.  On Saturday 22 November 2008, my father was taken ill in the evening. I telephoned the doctor’s surgery and it went to an answerphone in Norwich. They advised me to take my father to hospital immediately.

31.  I asked if it would be better for me to take him in my car because it can sometimes take a while for an ambulance to arrive. They told me that had to be my decision.

32.  My mother and I managed to get my father into the car but as he was so weak he had to lie down in the back of the estate car as if he were in an ambulance.

33.  When we arrived at the hospital, I notified the duty personnel as to what had happened and they removed my father from the car and into the hospital. We were asked to take a seat in the waiting room.

34.  Some while later we were informed by the doctor that my father had died. He asked a question in such a way that he implied the answer was “No.” He said, “Do you want us to try to revive him? I wouldn’t advise it because we might break his ribs and his quality of life would not be good because of his mental condition.”

35.  Thinking that this would be in Albert’s best interests, my mother and I agreed not to revive him.

36.  Both my mother and I regret that decision now.

37.  Although the death certificate states that he died at Queen Elizabeth Hospital of natural causes, which they were aware of within 24 hours, the Hospital informed the Police.

38.  I was arrested later that same evening by police officers from Norwich.

39.  I was arrested on suspicion of my father’s death.

40.        My mother was taken to a care home at Terrington St. John and I was taken to King’s Lynn police station.

41.        The police took my car keys and took the car away for examination.

42.        The police also took my keys to the house.

43.        I was held in the cells overnight. I managed to speak to a solicitor on the telephone. He said he had never heard of such a case before.

44.        I was interviewed in the early hours of the morning.

45.        I was bailed for one month and told that I could not go home, but had to return to the police station at 3pm the following afternoon.

46.        The police took my own clothes away and gave me paper-thin clothes to wear around town. I got a bad case of influenza as a direct result of this.

47.         I was not allowed home until the Monday afternoon, when a police officer took me to the police compound where my car was being held. He told me to drive home and said that he would follow me to the house.

48.        When we arrived at the house, there was a police officer present at the house and I learned that there had been a police presence at the house since the Saturday evening because they regarded the house as a crime scene.

49.        The police told me that I could not pick my mother up until the following day, after she had been seen by Social workers.

50.         The house was in a complete mess. The police had been in it and they pulled our possessions off the shelves. My mother’s handbag was found lying open on the kitchen floor.

51.        On the Tuesday, I went to the care home and we had an interview with two social workers – Tracey Hawke and Andrea Wood.