Wall collapse causes £120k damage at Sittingbourne dealership

A Sittingbourne car dealer fears for the future of his business after a wall collapsed onto his forecourt, wrecking much of his stock and causing an estimated £120,000 in damage.

Tom Bowles, 30, who runs T Bowles Vehicle Sales in Church Street, arrived at work on July 2 to find 20 of his vehicles crushed beneath rubble after a boundary wall next to the Lidl supermarket gave way.

“I started assessing the damage and just thought, ‘That car is dead, that one’s dead, that one’s dead’... my heart just sank,” Bowles told KentOnline.

The collapse, which was caught on Lidl’s CCTV, appeared to happen spontaneously. “It looked like somebody had lit a bomb on it and exploded it,” he said. “It came down on its own and hadn’t been hit by anything.”

Twelve of the vehicles, including cars and vans, are complete write-offs. A Ford Fiesta parked in the corner had its roof crushed to steering wheel level. Another eight were damaged in a domino effect after being shunted by the impact.

Among the write-offs were two cars that had already been sold - a Nissan Juke due for collection that day, and a Mercedes E-Class.

Bowles who has been running the dealership for seven years says the future of the business is hanging in the balance.

“It’s not just the money, it’s the time. I’ve built this business up myself from nothing,” he said. “I don’t know if I’ll even be able to reopen. I’ve been told six months to get things operational again. Just rebuilding the wall will take two months.”

The affected area of the Lidl car park has since been fenced off, but questions remain over who owns the wall and who is responsible for the collapse.

Bowles’ landlord does not own the structure, and the dealership is currently closed until clarity emerges - essential for any insurance claim. “This is my livelihood,” he said. “It could be the end of my business.”