A Rolls-Royce registered in Saudi Arabia has been towed away in Mayfair as part of a crackdown on rich owners who park their cars illegally and ignore parking tickets.
Westminster City Council has said it had started removing the luxury vehicles – which are worth as much as £250,000 – following complaints from local residents.
The cars, which included a Mercedes G-Wagen and a Bentley, were left parked on pavements by guests at the Chancery Rosewood hotel – where the most expensive room costs a whopping £20,000.
The council said that penalty charge notices handed to the motors left on the site of the former US Embassy had not deterred drivers and so it had been forced to remove some of the cars itself.
Footage shared on YouTube showed a collection of classic and luxury cars parked on the pavement outside the hotel, blocking the path for pedestrians.
This included a Ferrari with Saudi plates, a classic Jaguar E-Type and a yellow Lamborghini, which also had a Saudi number plate, with a parking fine attached to the wind screen.
A blue Rolls-Royce registered in Saudi Arabia was picked up and towed by Westminster City Council and moved to a location several streets away while other cars were moved voluntarily.
Both the council and Transport for London use private agencies to attempt to enforce payment of fines on foreign-registered cars from elsewhere in Europe, but vehicles from other parts of the world prove more problematic.
A blue Rolls-Royce registered in Saudi Arabia had to be picked up and towed by Westminster City Council and moved to a location several streets away
Other cars parked on the pavement, blocking access for pedestrians included a yellow Lamborghini which also had Saudi plates
A Mercedes G-Wagen, which costs over £180,000, was also left outside the luxury hotel in Mayfair
It is understood that the cars, which included a Mercedes G-Wagen and a Bentley, were left parked on pavements by guests at the Chancery Rosewood hotel – where the most expensive room costs a whopping £20,000
A spokesperson for the council told BBC News: ‘the usual approach of issuing PCNs have proven to be ineffective.
‘The vehicles are foreign registered – the ones we photographed have Saudi number plates – so the chances of recovering the costs are virtually nil.
‘And the owners of the vehicles, which include Rolls Royce and Lamborghinis, are so wealthy that fines barely register.’
Max Sullivan, cabinet member for streets at the council, said: ‘Those on foot shouldn’t have to run a gauntlet of illegally and selfishly parked supercars when trying to walk around Westminster.
‘We will not tolerate dangerous pavement parking, whether it’s a Lime bike or a Lamborghini.’
The Daily Mail have approached the Chancery Rosewood Hotel for a comment.