A Streatham Common couple is fuming after they came home from holiday to find their car had been impounded.

And when they tried to pick it up the next day, they discovered it had been crushed that morning.

Emily Droy and Bryan Magee, of Danbrook Road, were mystified to return from three weeks in Australia on Sunday, March 25, to find their Mitsubishi Colt was nowhere to be seen, despite having parked it outside their house before they left.

A few phonecalls later, it emerged burglars had broken into the car on March 2 and left it with a smashed rear window.

Lambeth Council had taken the damaged vehicle to the pound in Millwall, even though it was parked outside the registered address and had valid road tax, insurance and MOT.

Angry but resolved to pay the £390 release fee, Miss Droy and Mr Magee went to the pound payment centre in Camberwell on March 26, and were taken by taxi to Millwall, where staff trawled the car lot with a torch.

Miss Droy, 29, said: "It was immediately evident to us that our car was not there, and 45 minutes later one of the pound employees back at Camberwell informed us by phone that our car had been demolished that morning - only 12 days after it was impounded.

"The council claim they wrote to us, but we didn't get back from holiday until the 25th, and the car was destroyed the following day.

"If everyone from Lambeth informs the council when they go on holiday, imagine the number of calls they'd have to deal with.

"We are obviously seeking compensation for this incomprehensible situation. We are still in shock that this has been able to happen."

A Lambeth Council spokesman said: "This was an extremely unfortunate case and we are very sorry for the distress it has caused Ms Droy. Like all councils, Lambeth has a responsibility to act to remove cars from the highway that are potentially dangerous.

"We take this responsibility extremely seriously as such vehicles can blight neighbourhoods and act as magnets for crime, and our residents expect us to move them as quickly as possible.

"Ms Droy wrote to us at the end of last week and we are arranging a meeting with her as soon as possible to discuss the situation and the next steps."