'wrong man' goes under
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• Haulier Geoffrey Wallwork, whose truck was vandalised when he was mistaken for a hitand-run driver, (CM 30 Jan5 Feb) has been forced out of business because his bank turned down his request for a £4,000 bridging loan.
Now the Kent-based ownerdriver says he also faces losing his home. Wallwork's Volvo F12 Globetrotter, which cost £10,000 to customise, has been repossessed by the finance company and sold.
Wallwork's nightmare began in January when he received anonymous death threats at his home. They were addressed to Kevin Taylor, a tipper driver jailed for 18-months after 11year-old Darren Owen died when hit by Taylor's vehicle in Sittingbourne in 1989.
At the same time Wallwork's vehicle was immobilised by vandals who caused £6,500 worth of damage to its cab, ripping out the electric& Wallwork appeared on television to prove he looked nothing like Taylor but the threats continued with police unable to trace a culprit.
The Midland Bank has refused a bridging loan to cover losses while he is off the road, despite Wallwork winning a five-year contract for international work, drawn up specifically to help him persuade his bank manager. "The threats have stopped since everybody knows I'm finished," says Wallwork.