I was fined by council for driving in a bus lane – but I got out of it after finding a loophole

A PENSIONER who was slapped with a fine for driving in a bus lane got out of it after finding a loophole.

Bill Ball, 78, received a £35 Penalty Charge Notice (PCN) by Nottingham City Council last November.

But a loophole saw the fine revoked.

Retired engineer Bill, from Lincolnshire, noticed that one of the three entry signs to the bus gate was not there at the time he drove through.

The city council said the sign had been damaged in a road accident and had deemed two signs to be sufficient, .

A tribunal concluded that remaining two signs failed to "adequately inform" motorists about the bus lane - and the fine was revoked.

Mr Ball said: "I'd never driven in the city before and I just didn't notice this bus lane.

"The camera that took a photo of me in the bus lane also took a picture of the signs.

"As a stranger I wasn't to know a sign would normally be in the middle, but I went on Google street view and there were three signs.

"It was a complete fluke that I noticed it. People like me, we hardly ever come across bus lanes at all."

A council spokesperson said Mr Ball's successful appeal would not mean others who had already paid identical fines would be refunded.

Mr Ball said: "Most people that were also done probably won't know that. Anyone in their right mind will pay the £35 and get on with their life.

"If you refuse to begin with, it's doubled, and then you have to go through the appeal process. To some people £35 is quite a lot."

A Nottingham City Council spokesperson said: “At the time this fine was issued, a central bus gate sign had been damaged in a road accident.

"However, two signs remained in place on either side of the road which we deemed sufficient for ongoing enforcement.

“The signs we use are DfT approved and since the new road layout was introduced we have provided further signage and road markings to make the arrangements, including the bus gate, as clear as possible to motorists.

"We know that the vast majority of motorists are following the signs and road layout without entering the bus gate and incurring fines.

“Appeals are dealt with on their individual merit so under the rules of the national tribunal, the outcome of this appeal will not alter those cases where people have accepted a fine on Canal Street.”