Disabled driver wins parking battle
This is Lancashire
By Anna Youssef
A DISABLED pensioner is urging fellow motorists to challenge council parking fines after she won her battle to get a ticket cancelled.
Barbara Bennett, aged 65, of Woodstock Drive, Bolton, was issued with a £30 fine when she parked in a disabled bay at Dawes Street Car Park, in Bolton town centre despite displaying her badge and parking within the boundaries.
The council claimed the disbled spaces had barriers in front of them because they were not in use.
But Mrs Bennett won her appeal when parking chiefs admitted that the land on which the bay was painted was not council-owned and barriers put up to prevent motorists using the area had been vandalised.
Mrs Bennett said: "I can't walk very far because I suffer from back problems and I've had a hip replacement, so Dawes Street Car Park, near Morrisons, is very handy if I want to go shopping.
"A car was just pulling out of the space as I pulled in, so I put my disability badge on display and popped to a shop across the road. I was back in 10 minutes.
"I couldn't believe it when I saw I'd been given a parking ticket.
"It's the first one I've had in all my years driving, and I was so upset I didn't understand what I'd done wrong. The ticket said I'd parked beyond the bay markings, but I was parked in a space with disabled markings.
"I went straight to the council's appeals office in Chorley Street and when I explained what had happened, they told me they'd heard the same complaint from other people."
The disabled bays at the car park have been sealed off while council officers investigate claims that a neighbouring firm owns the land and not the local authority.
Mrs Bennett, who walks with the aid of a stick, claims there were no notices to say parking in the bay was prohibited, and no barriers that would stop a car from using the area.
A Bolton Council spokesman said: "We are waiving Mrs Bennett's ticket as it was issued in error.
"The land containing the bay is not council owned and we have erected fencing to prevent motorists using the area, but it is repeatedly vandalised.
"We will look into erecting more sturdy fencing and displaying a notice to make the boundaries clear."
By Anna Youssef
A DISABLED pensioner is urging fellow motorists to challenge council parking fines after she won her battle to get a ticket cancelled.
Barbara Bennett, aged 65, of Woodstock Drive, Bolton, was issued with a £30 fine when she parked in a disabled bay at Dawes Street Car Park, in Bolton town centre despite displaying her badge and parking within the boundaries.
The council claimed the disbled spaces had barriers in front of them because they were not in use.
But Mrs Bennett won her appeal when parking chiefs admitted that the land on which the bay was painted was not council-owned and barriers put up to prevent motorists using the area had been vandalised.
Mrs Bennett said: "I can't walk very far because I suffer from back problems and I've had a hip replacement, so Dawes Street Car Park, near Morrisons, is very handy if I want to go shopping.
"A car was just pulling out of the space as I pulled in, so I put my disability badge on display and popped to a shop across the road. I was back in 10 minutes.
"I couldn't believe it when I saw I'd been given a parking ticket.
"It's the first one I've had in all my years driving, and I was so upset I didn't understand what I'd done wrong. The ticket said I'd parked beyond the bay markings, but I was parked in a space with disabled markings.
"I went straight to the council's appeals office in Chorley Street and when I explained what had happened, they told me they'd heard the same complaint from other people."
The disabled bays at the car park have been sealed off while council officers investigate claims that a neighbouring firm owns the land and not the local authority.
Mrs Bennett, who walks with the aid of a stick, claims there were no notices to say parking in the bay was prohibited, and no barriers that would stop a car from using the area.
A Bolton Council spokesman said: "We are waiving Mrs Bennett's ticket as it was issued in error.
"The land containing the bay is not council owned and we have erected fencing to prevent motorists using the area, but it is repeatedly vandalised.
"We will look into erecting more sturdy fencing and displaying a notice to make the boundaries clear."
posted by Neil Herron at 1:44 PM
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