26.—(1) If a vehicle is left without permission of the Company—
(a)in a parking place provided by the Company within the harbour for a longer period than 24 hours or such other period as may be specified by notice erected by the Company;
(b)in any part of the harbour where the parking of vehicles is prohibited by notice erected by the Company; or
(c)in any place within the harbour where it is likely to obstruct or interfere with the use of the harbour,
the Company may, at the risk of the owner, cause it to be removed to a place of safe custody.
(2) Any such notice as is referred to in paragraph (1) above shall be conspicuously posted in or in proximity to the place to which it relates.
(3) Where the Company in exercise of the powers of this article causes a vehicle to be removed the expenses of and incidental to its removal and safe custody shall be recoverable by the Company from the person responsible as a debt.
(4) If the Company in exercise of the powers of this article causes a vehicle to be removed, it shall, if and as soon as it is reasonably practicable to do so, send to the person for the time being registered as the owner of the vehicle for the purposes of the Road Vehicles (Registration and Licensing) Regulations 2002 at that person’s last known address, his registered address, or the address where the vehicle is ordinarily kept, notice that the Company has exercised the powers of this article and of the place to which the vehicle has been removed.
(5) A notice stating the general effect of paragraph (1) above shall be displayed in a prominent position at each entrance to any parking place provided by the Company and at each place where a road accessible to vehicles enters any part of the harbour, and shall be endorsed at the harbour,
(6) In paragraph (3) above, “person responsible”, in relation to a vehicle, means—
(a)the owner of the vehicle at the time when it was put in the place from which it was so removed, unless that person shows that he was not concerned in and did not know of its being put there;
(b)any person by whom it was put in that place;
(c)any person convicted of an offence under section 2 of the Refuse Disposal (Amenity) Act 1978.