Relief at fine appeal victory

3:39pm Tuesday 1st July 2008

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By Charlie Crabtree »

AN elderly Stourport man has won an appeal against a parking fine and will be seeking compensation from Wyre Forest District Council for the stress he says it caused him.

Hayden Roberts, 64, of Redstone Lane, an angina and emphysema sufferer, said the council threatened him with bailiffs after he refused to pay a £30 fine for parking in a restricted time zone in the High Street.

Mr Roberts had to wait 100 days for the issue to be resolved by a traffic penalty tribunal adjudicator. The adjudicator’s decision is final. As a blue badge holder, Mr Roberts could park on double yellow lines but he said he did not know parking restrictions were in force between 11am and 4pm as well as at peak times.

He explained that the signs on the buildings were not obvious and should have been on posts by the kerbside.

Mr Roberts said: “I am very pleased with the decision. It would have been easier for me to pay the fine but why should I? I hadn’t done anything wrong.”

He added:”It has been very stressful for me. I could have had a heart attack. You can’t help getting upset.

”The time it has taken has made me miserable and given me sleepless nights but it’s done now – it’s finished.”

Mr Roberts said the council had made no apology and he would be seeking legal advice on claiming compensation. He said he had won the case by “sticking to his guns” and explained that he had submitted a number of photographs as part of his appeal.

Adjudicator Richard Charles said: “While it may be that the signage is in order, in the evidence available to me I am not satisfied that it was sufficient to draw the attention of a reasonable motorist.”

He added: “My decision should not be interpreted as an endorsement of the suggestion that a restriction is not enforceable if the regulatory signs are not mounted on posts.”