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Scottish Sun
5 days ago
- Automotive
- Scottish Sun
Popular car dealership facing closure after wall collapsed on top of cars causing £120K in damage
A total of 20 motors were damaged by the collapsing wall SMASHED TO PIECES Popular car dealership facing closure after wall collapsed on top of cars causing £120K in damage Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) A CAR dealership could be forced to close after a wall collapsed onto its fleet of for sale motors causing £120,000 damage. Tom Bowles, 30, who runs T Bowles Vehicles Sales in Church Street, Sittingbourne, found 12 of his second hand motors crushed by the collapsed wall. Sign up for Scottish Sun newsletter Sign up 5 A wall collapsed, wrecking 20 motors in the fleet of second-hand cars Credit: Tom Bowles 5 The car dealer estimates the damage caused totals some £120,000 Credit: Tom Bowles 5 A total of 12 cars were write-offs due to the extensive damage Credit: Tom Bowles The boss, who has owned his dealership behind Lidl for the last three years, said several of his motors will have to be written off. Tom estimated the damage caused by the collapsed wall already cost him £120,000. It could be months before the salesman is able to reopen his dealership and he fears he might never get it back on its feet. Tom had been on his way to the property on Wednesday, July 2, when he received some bad news from his landlord. Tom was told he needed to get down to the dealership as quickly as possible. Baffled by the early phone call, which is unusual for his landlord, the dad of one raced to his dealership to find a wall had collapsed and crushed a number of his motors. A whopping 20 of Tom's for sale motors were damaged when the wall collapsed. Tom told KentOnline: 'I started assessing the damage and started to think 'that car is dead, that one is dead and that one is dead'. My heart just sank.' He added that based on the Lidl CCTV it 'looked like somebody had lit a bomb on it and exploded it." 'It came down on its own and had not been hit by anything. Shocking moment flash floods destroyed nearly $2m worth of supercars - including 8 Ferraris and a Porsche 'In total 20 cars and vans were damaged. Twelve are wright-offs, such as a Ford Fiesta in the corner that had its roof touching its steering wheel after part of the wall landed on it. 'Eight were damaged from the other cars shunting into the back of them. 'I might be able to salvage those eight if the insurance pays out. I had two cars that had already been sold damaged as well.' A Nissan Juke and a Mercedes E class had already been sold and were due to be picked up by hopeful customers when they were smashed by the wall. The wall that came crashing down on Tom's motors is not owned by his landlord. The area has been closed off for repairs until further notice with Tom now forced to wait to find out who owns the collapsed structure. Tom will have to make an insurance claim to cover the heavy costs of the damages and keep his business afloat. A Lidl spokesman said: 'Following a partial collapse of a boundary wall in the car park of our Sittingbourne store, a section of the car park has been temporarily closed off as a safety precaution. 'Thankfully, no one was hurt, and the store remains open and trading as usual. 'We have contractors on site assessing the situation while we continue to work with all relevant parties. As this is ongoing, we're unable to provide further details at this stage.' The Sun has contacted Lidl for comment. Why are so many car dealerships closing down? By Summer Raemason According to Business Rescue Expert there are multiple reasons why car dealerships are folding across the UK. The first major factor is rising online car sales which are beating in-person sales at dealerships. With an extensive range of comparison and second-hand sites to chose from, may car buyers don't even step foot into a dealership anymore. Secondly, the actual cost to physically run the sites has soared. Rent, wages and energy bills have all been increasing for roughly the past five years, putting many out of pocket. Car manufacturing across the globe was also hit by a semiconductor chip shortage in 2022 which made it difficult to produce new motors. The high demand with limited supply created a backlog, which although has eased, is still having an impact on the industry. A third reason for recent closures is the shift to electric cars. They are becoming more popular, given the Government initiative to be Net Zero in 2050. The industry is also affected when companies merge or are bought by rivals. This may lead to some independent names falling victim to the ongoing spate of closures. 5 Dealer Tom Bowles fears his business may not recover Credit: Tom Bowles
The Irish Sun
5 days ago
- Automotive
- The Irish Sun
Popular car dealership facing closure after wall collapsed on top of cars causing £120K in damage
A CAR dealership could be forced to close after a wall collapsed onto its fleet of for sale motors causing £120,000 damage. Tom Bowles, 30, who runs T Bowles Vehicles Sales in Church Street, Sittingbourne , found 12 of his Advertisement 5 A wall collapsed, wrecking 20 motors in the fleet of second-hand cars Credit: Tom Bowles 5 The car dealer estimates the damage caused totals some £120,000 Credit: Tom Bowles 5 A total of 12 cars were write-offs due to the extensive damage Credit: Tom Bowles The boss, who has owned his dealership behind Lidl for the last three years, said several of his Tom estimated the damage caused by the collapsed wall already cost him £120,000. It could be months before the salesman is able to Tom had been on his way to the property on Wednesday, July 2, when he received some bad news from his landlord. Advertisement Read more in Motors Tom was told he needed to get down to the Baffled by the early phone call, which is unusual for his landlord, the dad of one raced to his dealership to find a wall had collapsed and crushed a number of his motors. A whopping 20 of Tom's for sale motors were damaged when the wall collapsed. Tom told Advertisement Most read in Motors Latest He added that based on the Lidl 'It came down on its own and had not been hit by anything. Shocking moment flash floods destroyed nearly $2m worth of supercars - including 8 Ferraris and a Porsche 'In total 20 cars and vans were damaged. Twelve are wright-offs, such as a 'Eight were damaged from the other cars shunting into the back of them. Advertisement 'I might be able to salvage those eight if the insurance pays out. I had two cars that had already been sold damaged as well.' A Nissan Juke and a Mercedes E class had already been sold and were due to be picked up by hopeful customers when they were smashed by the wall. The wall that came crashing down on Tom's The area has been closed off for Advertisement Tom will have to make an insurance claim to cover the heavy costs of the damages and keep his A Lidl spokesman said: 'Following a partial collapse of a boundary wall in the car park of our Sittingbourne store, a section of the 'Thankfully, no one was hurt, and the store remains open and trading as usual. 'We have Advertisement The Sun has contacted Lidl for comment. Why are so many car dealerships closing down? By Summer Raemason According to Business Rescue Expert there are multiple reasons why car dealerships are folding across the UK. The first major factor is rising online car sales which are beating in-person sales at dealerships. With an extensive range of comparison and second-hand sites to chose from, may car buyers don't even step foot into a dealership anymore. Secondly, the actual cost to physically run the sites has soared. Rent, wages and energy bills have all been increasing for roughly the past five years, putting many out of pocket. Car manufacturing across the globe was also hit by a semiconductor chip shortage in 2022 which made it difficult to produce new motors. The high demand with limited supply created a backlog, which although has eased, is still having an impact on the industry. A third reason for recent closures is the shift to electric cars. They are becoming more popular, given the Government initiative to be Net Zero in 2050. The industry is also affected when companies merge or are bought by rivals. This may lead to some independent names falling victim to the ongoing spate of closures. 5 Dealer Tom Bowles fears his business may not recover Credit: Tom Bowles 5 A Nissan Juke and a Mercedes E class had already been sold and were due to be picked up by hopeful customers when they were smashed by the wall Credit: Tom Bowles
The Sun
5 days ago
- Automotive
- The Sun
Popular car dealership facing closure after wall collapsed on top of cars causing £120K in damage
A CAR dealership could be forced to close after a wall collapsed onto its fleet of for sale motors causing £120,000 damage. Tom Bowles, 30, who runs T Bowles Vehicles Sales in Church Street, Sittingbourne, found 12 of his second hand motors crushed by the collapsed wall. 5 5 5 The boss, who has owned his dealership behind Lidl for the last three years, said several of his motors will have to be written off. Tom estimated the damage caused by the collapsed wall already cost him £120,000. It could be months before the salesman is able to reopen his dealership and he fears he might never get it back on its feet. Tom had been on his way to the property on Wednesday, July 2, when he received some bad news from his landlord. Tom was told he needed to get down to the dealership as quickly as possible. Baffled by the early phone call, which is unusual for his landlord, the dad of one raced to his dealership to find a wall had collapsed and crushed a number of his motors. A whopping 20 of Tom's for sale motors were damaged when the wall collapsed. Tom told KentOnline: 'I started assessing the damage and started to think 'that car is dead, that one is dead and that one is dead'. My heart just sank.' He added that based on the Lidl CCTV it 'looked like somebody had lit a bomb on it and exploded it." 'It came down on its own and had not been hit by anything. Shocking moment flash floods destroyed nearly $2m worth of supercars - including 8 Ferraris and a Porsche 'In total 20 cars and vans were damaged. Twelve are wright-offs, such as a Ford Fiesta in the corner that had its roof touching its steering wheel after part of the wall landed on it. 'Eight were damaged from the other cars shunting into the back of them. 'I might be able to salvage those eight if the insurance pays out. I had two cars that had already been sold damaged as well.' A Nissan Juke and a Mercedes E class had already been sold and were due to be picked up by hopeful customers when they were smashed by the wall. The wall that came crashing down on Tom's motors is not owned by his landlord. The area has been closed off for repairs until further notice with Tom now forced to wait to find out who owns the collapsed structure. Tom will have to make an insurance claim to cover the heavy costs of the damages and keep his business afloat. A Lidl spokesman said: 'Following a partial collapse of a boundary wall in the car park of our Sittingbourne store, a section of the car park has been temporarily closed off as a safety precaution. 'Thankfully, no one was hurt, and the store remains open and trading as usual. 'We have contractors on site assessing the situation while we continue to work with all relevant parties. As this is ongoing, we're unable to provide further details at this stage.' The Sun has contacted Lidl for comment. Why are so many car dealerships closing down? By Summer Raemason According to Business Rescue Expert there are multiple reasons why car dealerships are folding across the UK. The first major factor is rising online car sales which are beating in-person sales at dealerships. With an extensive range of comparison and second-hand sites to chose from, may car buyers don't even step foot into a dealership anymore. Secondly, the actual cost to physically run the sites has soared. Rent, wages and energy bills have all been increasing for roughly the past five years, putting many out of pocket. Car manufacturing across the globe was also hit by a semiconductor chip shortage in 2022 which made it difficult to produce new motors. The high demand with limited supply created a backlog, which although has eased, is still having an impact on the industry. A third reason for recent closures is the shift to electric cars. They are becoming more popular, given the Government initiative to be Net Zero in 2050. The industry is also affected when companies merge or are bought by rivals. This may lead to some independent names falling victim to the ongoing spate of closures. 5 5
Yahoo
12-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Pro-Palestine protesters block fire engine
Credit: Tom Bowles Pro-Palestine protesters blocked a fire engine responding to an emergency as they swarmed the roads of south London. The vehicle, which had its sirens on, was forced to change route after Youth Demand demonstrators refused to end their roadblock in Elephant and Castle on Saturday at around 12.30pm. The group, which was demanding a trade embargo on Israel and investment in communities most affected by the use of fossil fuels, had five of its protesters arrested. Footage shows the vehicle struggling to pass through the traffic as around 50 demonstrators, who continued to chant and bang their drum, blocked the roundabout next to the Tube stations. The fire engine was trapped between other vehicles also stuck in the disruption until the police arrived to intervene. Eventually, a bus moved out of the way to allow space for the fire engine, which was then able to travel along St George's Road as it was free from disruption. Mia Hinds, an A-level student from Exeter, who took part in the protest, said: 'I am taking action with Youth Demand because I cannot sit by and watch two genocides happen on livestream: the genocide of the Palestinians and the global genocide of the climate crisis. 'As a young person, I feel so much rage about government complicity and I feel a duty to take to the streets.' Youth Demand said it ended the blockade at around 1.20pm, with one protester arrested for breach of Section 7 of the Public Order Act and four more arrested as the crowds dispersed. It hit out at the arrests on X, accusing the British state of 'continu[ing] to protect war criminals and arrest ordinary people of conscience'. The group, which has been called 'Just Stop Oil 2.0,' added that it 'will continue to take necessary and proportionate action put an end to UK complicity in genocide'. On Friday, Youth Demand members were pelted with eggs while blocking traffic on Farringdon Road. The road protests come after David Lammy, the Foreign Secretary, was targeted by Youth Demand activists at his home in north London. Two female protesters placed child-sized body bags at his doorstep and displayed a sign over his hedge that read 'Lammy Stop Army Genocide' on Tuesday morning. The Government's position is that Israel's actions in Gaza are at a clear risk of breaching international humanitarian law. Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more.
