I was handed a £65 fine for ‘parking’ in a disabled bay but it was my car’s SHADOW – I’m furious
A DAD was left seething after being slapped with a £65 parking ticket because his car's SHADOW fell across a disabled bay.
Matthew Cole was slapped with the penalty fine after leaving his car in Lewisham in South London - and was stunned when he received the ticket.
The dad explained that he had taken his daughter to a football match, and had left his Ford estate car parked outside Blackheath Post Office in an unmarked bay.
But, the sun was shining, and the front of Matthew's car seemed to create a shadow that merged into the next bay - which was a disabled spot.
The wheels of Matthew's car can be seen outside of the white markings, according to a picture sent to him by Lewisham Council.
The gardener was shocked when he opened a letter weeks later saying that he had parked illegally in the disabled bay.
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Matthew claims that the bay he was caught parking in didn't have any signage to suggest it was a spot for blue-badge users.
He tried to appeal the £65 fine - but his first plea was rejected.
Matthew told : “It’s absurd. There’s no signage where I parked and the photos they sent me only show the shadow of my car in the disabled spot.
"I was taking my daughter to a football match on the heath and had parked there before without a problem.
"Having not got a ticket at the other times, I personally don’t think I should have got a ticket this time.
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“It’s completely wrong. They’re enforcing something that’s not there. I think £65 is not a lot to many people today but the principle is wrong.
"If you don’t pay the fine in a certain time it doubles to £130 which is a lot."
Matthew said that there was no disabled parking sign next to the bay where he was parked.
Lewisham Council rejected his complaint and stuck to its claim that he parked in a spot reserved for disabled badge holders.
But the dad said he is determined not to pay the fine - and has now lodged a second complaint against the fine.
He said: “They sent me an email to dispute it and I disputed it but they seemed to just ignore what I said and said it was issued correctly.
"They’re so hard to get hold of. I think it’s done to force you to pay.
“I’ve parked in that same spot at least three other times for five to eight hours each time and had no problem. I don’t see why it was a problem this time.”
A Lewisham Council spokesperson said: “We issued a Penalty Charge Notice [PCN] to Mr Cole on 26 March for parking in a disabled bay, which was marked with a ‘Disabled badge holders only’ sign.
"Mr Cole’s initial challenge of this PCN was rejected as he didn’t give a reason for challenging it.
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"He has since outlined reasons for challenging the fine, which we are looking into in line with legal processes.
"We will be letting Mr Cole know the outcome in due course."
