Carer's arm broken in angry stand-off with police and bailiffs over unpaid £35 bus lane fine

A carer from Handsworth had her arm broken in two places when police tried to 'pull her out of her car' during an escalating stand-off with bailiffs over an unpaid bus lane fine. Jackie Robinson, 54, whose husband is blind and bedbound, said she was left 'absolutely terrified' by the encounter.

She had emergency surgery and was in hospital for three days because of the double break to her arm sustained in the incident. "I can't believe this was the result of forgetting to pay a £35 fine for entering a bus lane," she said.

Bailiffs acting for Birmingham City Council said their officers had done 'everything possible' to de-escalate the situation before calling the police and claimed Mrs Robinson had 'refused to co-operate'. Police were only called after a wheel clamp lawfully applied to the car was cut off, causing criminal damage, and the car was driven off.

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Mrs Robinson, from Douglas Road, said she refused to co-operate because she did not believe the bailiffs had a legal right to take control of the 2004 Honda Jazz. She said the car was an 'essential lifeline' for her, her disabled husband and 15-year-old twins, one of them autistic. "They had no court papers and no right to take it," said a defiant Mrs Robinson, who also works as a carer for older people.

"I could not believe what was happening, it was so scary. I thought the police would be on my side and would de-escalate things, but they immediately took the side of the bailiffs. They told me they were getting the car and that was the only scenario," she claimed.

"I accept I did not pay the initial fine, but never in a million years did I expect this to escalate and end up with me suffering a broken arm, terrified and traumatised, in hospital and unable to care for my husband or go to work. I was even scared to go into surgery. I can't reconcile that a bus lane ticket has ended up like this. I was shocked."

Her arm was broken as police officers tried to prise her fingers from the car's steering wheel, which she was gripping tightly. Her lower arm 'snapped' in the encounter and two bones were broken. The first response of one police officer was to handcuff her good arm to her damaged one though this was quickly removed once it was clear her arm was broken, she alleged.

Officers took her to City Hospital in agony, and she was later admitted for emergency surgery. Two plates were fitted and she remains in plaster and a protective sling, with recovery understood to take 'months'.

Describing how she was injured, Mrs Robinson said: "One police officer said to me: 'They are getting the car and that's the only scenario'. I held onto the steering wheel. I said to a woman police officer that I wasn't coming out of the car. They said: 'Let's go to plan A'.

"One stood at my right and the woman officer knelt in the passenger seat and was trying to pry my hand off the wheel. I was holding on tightly. I heard the crack, I looked down and my hand was hanging down. I started to scream. One policeman came and handcuffed my broken arm, the good arm and the broken arm together."

Her friend, who would be named only as Izzi, is supporting her recovery and said she was horrified at what had happened. Izzi said: "All this was over a forgotten bus lane penalty ticket and now she is in agony and struggling to cope. It feels very very wrong." She claimed the car's low value and its use by a vulnerable family with disabilities ought to have exempted it from being taken, and said her friend had denied ever seeing any legal enforcement notices until the day the bailiffs turned up. The company, however, say the vehicle was not exempted nor were they aware of any special circumstances because the owner had refused to cooperate.

Bailiffs from the company CEDR Group were acting over an unpaid Birmingham City Council fine, imposed for entering a bus lane on Moor Street Queensway in Birmingham city centre last November. The firm said the council, and its own officials, had written to Mrs Robinson on multiple occasions in a bid to settle the bill, which was originally £35 if paid immediately.

By the time bailiff fees were added the cost had escalated to more than £500. CEDR said it served legal notices by post on three occasions in April, hand-delivered one notice to the house, though it admitted that was given to a child, and then called at the house on the morning of May 2 to settle the matter by seizing the car in lieu of the costs.

That was a 'last resort' when all payment options had been exhausted, said the company. A wheel clamp fixed to the car in preparation for removing it was cut off 'by a male' and Mrs Robinson later drove it away, the firm said. The incident then dramatically escalated when the car was seen by the bailiffs in nearby Murdock Road, and a further attempt was made to seize the vehicle.

They said one of their officers suffered a minor injury while trying to remove the car's keys during the fraught encounter and was left 'shaken up'. Mrs Robinson claimed she was in full panic mode by that time and told the bailiffs and, later, the police she would not get out of the car without seeing an authorised court order, which she claimed was not provided. She said she also offered to make a payment plan, which the company said the bailiffs rejected as too late by that time.

Police were said to have later attempted to forcibly remove Mrs Robinson, which is when the arm injury allegedly occurred. West Midlands Police said today: "A 54-year-old woman was arrested on suspicion of assault and theft of a motor vehicle on Thursday, May 2. During her arrest on Murdock Road, Birmingham, she sustained an arm injury after refusing to leave the vehicle.

"Her welfare was our primary concern and an ambulance was called to check the arm injury and she was taken to hospital to receive treatment. To allow treatment to be carried out as soon as possible she was de-arrested. Investigators will be continuing their enquiries and the woman will be further spoken to in due course.

"Officers recorded the whole incident on their body-worn video which was reviewed by the standards manager and, as is normal practice in these situations, has been referred to our professional standards department."

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CDER Group said: “CDER Group are satisfied, from reviewing video evidence of the encounter between our enforcement agents and Jacqueline Robinson, that all actions taken were carried out lawfully and in accordance with the Taking Control of Goods Regulations 2013.

"In addition to complying fully with the statutory process, CDER gave Ms Robinson several additional opportunities to engage, make payment or seek support. Ms Robinson deliberately evaded the enforcement process and further offended by interfering with goods that had been lawfully taken into control, resulting in the matter being handed over to the police.”

A Birmingham City Council spokesperson said: “We are concerned by what has been reported and are in contact with the bailiff company to further understand and investigate the series of events that took place on May 2. We have been provided with a timeline of events and are awaiting a copy of the bodycam footage which we will review.

“Bailiffs are only used as a last resort once all other procedures have been properly followed, as was the case here, but we expect the highest standards of the debt recovery companies we use and will always investigate when concerns are reported to us.”