ARMED police were called to Aviva’s offices in York when an angry customer staged a one-man demonstration with his digger.

The officers, who were the closest to the scene, were called to the insurance giant’s building at Monks Cross yesterday after Paul Parvin had blocked the barriers to the site where 180 employees work.

The self-employed plant hire operator is angry at the way his insurance claim has been handled after an accident in his excavator. He was persuaded to move on after 90 minutes, but vowed to continue his protest until Aviva had settled the issue.

An Aviva spokeswoman said the firm had previously discussed Mr Parvin’s concerns with him and the matter was now with the Financial Ombudsman Service.

She was unable to comment further until a decision had been reached.

Mr Parvin previously protested, sitting in a deckchair with a placard for several hours near the entrance to Aviva’s Rougier Street building in December.

He told The Press he had an engineering and motor insurance policy with Aviva when, more than three years ago, an articulated truck crashed into the back of his excavator, causing severe damage.

Mr Parvin said the truck insurer’s assessor decided it should be repaired, although he believed the damage was so bad it should have been written off.

After seven months of repairs, he said the vehicle immediately experienced problems, for example, with a brake test deeming the vehicle unfit for the road. He said Aviva then cancelled the insurance.

“Why they won’t class it as a write-off Ive no idea. It was just over two years old when the accident happened and they said it was too new to write it off. But it came back unroadworthy and unusable.”

Mr Parvin, from Sessay, near Thirsk, said he reached a settlement in February 2011 that Aviva would take over ownership of the vehicle from him.

He had already accepted £18,400 from the company and was due another £12,500 when they took the vehicle from his premises, he said.

However, Mr Parvin, who has since bought another digger to continue working, said the uninsured and unroadworthy vehicle was still in his possession.

“It is a problem being there and them not collecting it. What about storage? What if there’s a fire? Who’s insuring it while it's at my place?” he said.

“Who do you talk to? You just get passed from one person to another. They’re just hoping it will disappear.

“It’s been a nightmare. Why do we have insurance when it doesn’t work?

“It has cost me a lot of time going nowhere, writing letters going nowhere, endless phone calls and I just get fobbed off every time.”

The Aviva spokeswoman said the police were called because the site must always have access for emergency vehicles.

Two armed officers attended the incident, but a police spokeswoman said that was because they were the ones available at the time.

It was not classed as a firearms incident, which would have to be authorised by a senior officer.

She said Mr Parvin received a warning for his actions.