THE landlord of a Newton public house has landed himself in hot water with council planning officers after he flouted their instructions to cease selling vehicles from the pub car park.

Now St Helens Council says it has been left with no other choice but to serve an enforcement notice on Gary Wright, publican of the Legh Arms, on Mill Lane.

News of the unauthorised sale of cars from the car park first came to the attention of officers in April this year and members of the planning committee attended a site visit. Mr Wright was advised at the time that the sale of cars was unacceptable and unauthorised due to it breaching highway safety and compromising customers parked along Mill Lane. Following a further site visit in July, where members reported that vehicle sales were still taking place, officers have now decided to act with immediate effect and serve a notice on Mr Wright due to 'the serious traffic hazard to other road users in the vicinity of the site', unless the cars are withdrawn.

But licensee Mr Wright is adamant that the cars will stay. He said: "In my opinion the busybodies who have been complaining should get a life. It's a load of rubbish that it's a danger. I refuse to have my business taken off me. It's a legitimate car lot and I've spent a lot of money fencing it off from the car park and making it presentable.

"It was more of a danger as a pub car park than it is now because now the vehicles very rarely move off and on whereas before they were moving on and off continuously. It isn't my fault that residents have purchased a house without its own parking space. In the 1920s the Legh Arms car sales lot was an actual garage and I have proof of that. I am still waiting to receive notification of this enforcement."