A council has dished out parking tickets to people celebrating the centenary of a world land speed record set in Britain.
Sefton Council traffic wardens ticketed vehicles as they gathered on Ainsdale Beach in Southport to commemorate the 100-year anniversary of the Sunbeam Tiger breaking the rapid record.
Sefton Council was then accused of “embarrassing itself” – and went on to rescind many tickets it had handed out.
Cars ticketed by traffic wardens included the current owner of Sir Henry Segrave’s legendary Sunbeam Tiger – as well as that of the High Sheriff of Merseyside.
Ainsdale councillor Lynne Thompson said: “This was a free event that brought people and business to the town and commemorated a significant event in motoring history in our town.”
The local Liberal Democrats said the event had brought more than 100 guests to the Waterfront Hotel, who were ticketed for not parking correctly at Floral Hall Bay.
The council also charged the organisers to open the public bathrooms, and billed them for refreshments given to the mayor and his party.
Ms Thompson offered to cover the cost of the mayor’s refreshments if the mayoral budget could not afford to.
Lib Dem Councillor Lynne Thompson said the event was an embarrassment for Sefton Council
|
FACEBOOK/LIBERAL DEMOCRATS
The Sunbeam Tiger, designed by engineer Louis Coatalen, hit speeds of 152 miles per hour (245 kilometres/hour) on March 16, 1926.
It was the last time the land speed record was set by a conventional circuit racing car rather than a purpose-built vehicle.
Sir Henry Segrave, a Baltimore-born British national, already had a successful motor-racing career and was the first Briton to win a Formula One Grand Prix in a British car.
The Tiger, nicknamed “Ladybird” was driven by current world land speed record-holder and fighter pilot Andy Green as part of a three-day event.
LATEST FROM THE NORTH WEST:
Sir Henry Segrave in the Sunbeam Tiger in 1926
|
Wikimedia
He completed the same course at Ainsdale Beach, but only drove at 30mph.
Wing Cdr Green went on to clock 763 mph driving ThrustSSC in 1997, a record that stands to this day.
He told BBC Radio Merseyside: “It gives me more time to enjoy the experience of following Henry Segrave’s footsteps 100 years to the day.”
Sir Henry would become the first driver to break the 200mph barrier just a year later at Daytona Beach in the United States.
Not satisfied with being the fastest man on just land, he died when his speedboat Miss England II capsized while attempting to break the water speed record.
PICTURED: Sir Henry Segrave racing the Sunbeam Tiger in 1926
|
GETTY
The Tiger remains the smallest-capacity internal combustion-engine car to hold the land speed record and is currently part of the National Motor Museum collection in Beaulieu, Hampshire.
The Segrave 100 Southport Celebration event was organised by Aintree Circuit Club, who said it was a great opportunity to remember the area’s motor sport history.
Chairman Mike Ashcroft said Southport’s motoring history dated back to 1903, with speed trials, followed by racing on the beach in the 1930s.
Mr Ashcroft said the spectacle rivalled Brooklands, the world’s first purpose-built motor racing circuit, constructed at Weybridge in Surrey in 1907.