A Norfolk fisherman has described his fury after police broke into his parked car believing the flies buzzing around his vehicle could be evidence of a decomposing body.
George Wallis told the BBC he was "furious" that police had towed his car and has told authorities to scrap the vehicle because he can't afford the £500 he now needs to release it.
Police first broke into the car after seeing it in Mundesley Road car park in North Walsham with a flat tyre. According to a Norfolk police spokesperson there were "a vast amount of flies inside”.
"The amount was very concerning for the time of year and weather conditions,” a statement from Norfolk police read.
"A visual check was conducted on the vehicle from outside and the officer could find no obvious reason for the flies."
However after smashing the back window, only fishing gear was found. The flies came from Wallis's tackle box, in which he had been keeping maggots.
Because the car was now "insecure" and police couldn't contact Wallis the officer arranged to have it towed. However the car’s owner explained this was because he was midway through registering the vehicle.
“The police made my vehicle insecure by breaking into it. They should pay, not me,” he told the North Norfolk News.
“I’ve given the go-ahead now for it to be scrapped because I can’t afford to get it back, but scrapping will cost me £75 and I don’t know whether I’ll still have to pay the towing charge and storage,” said Wallis.
A spokesperson for Norfolk police said: "police have full legal powers to force entry but if the owner isn’t happy they need to write to legal services."