A married couple had their ‘fire hazard’ doormat snatched by jobsworth council workers – who then billed them £20 to keep it in a secure lock-up.
Luke Dolman and his wife, Mairead, were gobsmacked after returning home to find their personalised doormat gone and a threatening letter from the council had been pushed through their letterbox.
The pair were told by Brighton and Hove City Council their homely mat, which says ‘Home is where the Dolmans are’, could be a threat to safety in the wake of the Grenfell Tower disaster.
And salt was rubbed into the wounds when the authority said it would charge £20 per week for storage of the A3-size doormat – or it would be destroyed.
Luke Dolman and his wife, Mairead, had their ‘fire hazard’ doormat (pictured) snatched by jobsworth council workers – who then billed them £20 to keep it in a secure lock-up
Luke, 29, said on Twitter: ‘Letter from @BrightonHoveCC. Decided doormats are too much of an obstruction, confiscated ours, and charged £20 for privilege! #jobsworths’.
The council has since defended seizing the mat by claiming it was taking during ‘additional safety checks’ following the Grenfell Tower inferno.
The mat was a present for Luke and Mairead when they moved into their flat last year.
A letter from the council’s head of housing, Tracy John, said the doormat had been placed into storage.
It added: ‘You will be charged £20 per week for storage to Brighton & Hove City Council in respect of the cost of making enquiries, serving this notice and looking after the property adequately.
‘If not collected within 28 days, it will be disposed of.’
The pair were told by Brighton and Hove City Council their homely mat, which says ‘Home is where the Dolmans are’, could be a threat to safety in the wake of the Grenfell Tower disaster
A spokesman for the councils said the couple should have followed safety advice – before dubbing the gaffe ‘doormat-gate’.
They added the couple will only be billed if they pick up the doormat.
They said: ‘I think what happens is they were getting a lot of notice to take things away because on advice of the fire people everything had to be clear.
‘They were given plenty of time and after a certain date it was taken away.
‘If they want it back then it’s considered stored – but if they don’t want it back they won’t be charged.
‘They just need to make it clear. If they had followed advice in the first place they would not have been in this situation.
‘It’s doormat-gate.’