Lewis Shaw
It came to that time of the year again, when Arab boy racers in souped-up Lamborghinis and Bugattis, cruise along London’s most luxurious streets.
Knightsbridge – home of famous department store Harrods – and Sloane Square are two of the spots where you might see admirers of the supercars snapping selfies in front of the vehicles.
But while fans might be ogling over high-end custom vehicles, politicians are fighting back over the noise and disruption caused by hitting people who rev their engines with £100 ($155) fines.
Arabs have been coming with their Dubai-registered supercars to Knightsbridge – where average property prices exceed £3.5 million ($5.4 million) – for several years. But residents in the area have been outraged by the noise caused by the engines.
Karen Morgan Thomas, a local resident, has been campaigning since 2010 to stop the noise. Last year she told various news sources that it was causing “sleep deprivation”.
The £100 fixed penalty notice will be dished out by the local council. The leader admits the small sum won’t put off the super-rich, but said that if they continue to get tickets, it could lead to harsher action.
“Of course we’re not expecting Zonda and Veyron drivers to quail at a ticket for a mere hundred quid, but we’ll be keeping track,” Nick Paget-Brown, leader of the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea wrote on a blog post on Friday.
“If they rack up a few tickets, they might just find their cars being seized by the police. Hopefully that will start to have a salutary effect.”
