Clarke faces parking fees
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by Rob Willock • Roy Clarke, the lorry driver cleared of drug smuggling after 20 months in prison awaiting trial, now faces massive bills he cannot pay and a battle for compensation from Spanish authorities.
Still stuck in Spain, Clarke says: "Somebody has said that I am going to be charged E3,000 for parking. Before 1 was jailed they told me where to park the truck. Now they are asking me to pay, even though I've been acquitted.
"I was hoping to get home this week, but the police still have my passport. I've got to wait for the judge's written verdict, but it's a fiesta week here and nobody's working."
At his Surrey home Clarke will find a 'welcome back' letter from Central Trailer Rentco (CTR) stapled to an invoice for £3,421.29.
It's like they are saying "Congratulations on getting out. Can we have our money now?", says Clarke.
CTR's bill to Clarke is for rental of the trailer during the entire period of its impoundment by the Spanish police (February to July 1994), although the driver had no power to return it.
Despite sending Clarke the letter asking for "proposals to discharge your indebtedness", CTR's managing director, Geoff Eaton, says: "We are entirely sympathetic to the circumstances during Mr Clarke's imprisonment and are obviously delighted that his ordeal is over. We look forward to agreeing a mutually satisfactory conclusion. Clearly we will treat the situation with the sensitivity it deserves."
Clarke's Spanish lawyer, Angel Ilera, will be pressing for maximum compensation from the Spanish authorities, which could amount to £50 per day spent in jail.
"That would be about 1;30,000," says Clarke. "We're going to go for it. We'll take it to the European Court if we cannot get it here. With loss of earnings, the depreciation on my truck and the bills I'm facing, I need it.
"What makes it worse is that I haven't heard an apology. I was released without an explanation—I have not been treated well. I wouldn't even have been charged if this had happened in Britain."
Clarke remains calm despite his ordeal. "I'll probably go back to the job. My wife Virginia doesn't want me to, hut I love driving—it's what I know. I just hope I can get my truck back."