RAF veteran, 90, told to move mobility scooter or face eviction in stark ultimatum just days before Remembrance Day
Ron Gibbs was told his mobillty scooter was a fire risk and ordered to move it or face getting booted out of his flat.
An RAF veteran has been threatened with eviction by a housing association following a row over his mobility scooter - just days before Remembrance Day.
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Ron Gibbs, 90, lives in a one-bed flat which he moved into with his son Jason, 49, last year after his health deteriorated.
He has become locked in a furious row with the housing association that owns the flat after he parked his mobility scooter outside its backdoor.
Mr Gibbs was told it was a fire risk and ordered to either move the scooter or face eviction. Jason said he has tried to argue on his father’s behalf but claims the housing association is refusing to budge.
He branded officials “disgraceful” for taking such a hard line against the RAF veteran, particularly since Remembrance Day is coming up.
“I called them up and I spoke to the same manager and I have never been spoken to like it. He spoke to me like a piece of… well, I won't say that word.
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“He said the scooter had to be moved or we'd be evicted and they could confiscate it.“I think that's disgraceful. My father is an elderly veteran and they want to make him homeless just before Remembrance Day,” he told the Sun.
Incommunities, the housing association in question, said: “The scooter poses a fire risk due to its storage location, which was too close to the building.“
Lithium batteries inside scooters can catch fire, putting the entire block at risk.”The company added that they were looking into “more suitable accommodation” for the war veteran.
It comes just days ahead of Remembrance Day on November 11.
Around 10,000 veterans will march past the Cenotaph in Whitehall.
Over 800 serving members from the British Army, the Royal Navy, and Royal Air Force wil be on duty for the Remembrance services.
They are positioned at the Cenotaph as well as Westminster Abbey and Westminster Cathedral.
The Remembrance Day services pay tribute to the Armistice of the First World War and other conflicts which involve British and Commonwealth Forces.