A Slough mechanic who stripped and fixed cars on the pavement and road near his home has been fined more than £2,400 - despite failing to turn up to court.

Ronny Mir, of Parlaunt Road, left cars jacked up at the side of the road in various states of disrepair. He left bonnets up and parts lying across the pavement and road as he fixed and serviced the vehicles for paying customers. The ground became stained with oil which was also poured into surface water drains.

He verbally threatened neighbourhood teams sent to record the activity for Slough Borough Council and threatened to "maim and blind" council officers taking pictures of the cars.

Mir, 48, failed to appear at Reading Magistrates’ Court despite being summons for trial to face three counts of breaching the Clean Neighbourhoods and Environment Act.

He was found guilty by three magistrates and fined £450, ordered to pay costs of £1,980.50 and a victim surcharge of £30, making the total to pay £2,460.50.

Liz Jones, neighbourhood manager for Slough Borough Council, said a team had been working on collecting evidence and taking enforcement action since 2017, when Mir was seen working on cars on the highway.

She said: “The case against Mr Mir was that he was carrying out car repairs on the highway and this resulted in many complaints from neighbours about car parts being left strewn across the highway, car oil on the footpaths and being poured into the surface water drain and cars in various states of repair being left along the road.

“The East Team had been working on collecting evidence and taking enforcement action since 2017 when he was witnessed committing the same offence of working on cars on the highway causing a nuisance and relation to business being operated from Parlaunt Road.

“As a result Mr Mir was issued with a fixed penalty which he failed to pay, he was also invited into the council offices for a formal interview where he would have had the opportunity to advise the investigating officer of any mitigating circumstances. Mr Mir did not attend the interview and did not make attempts to re-arrange.

“Therefore when Mr Mir resumed the same pattern of working in the same location in 2018 the decisions was made to prosecute him.

“Over this period Mr Mir was becoming increasingly threatening towards officers culminating in him making threats to “maim and blind” the officers who were taking photos of the cars.”