Atherton driver issues warning after parking fine in Bolton

Barry Hilton, 67, parked on Ridgeway Gates, off Deansgate, earlier this year, in March, while him and his wife Jacqueline went to Victoria Hall.

At the time he said that there were "faded" markings, which looked like they used to say "loading bay", but they were hard to make out.

He said: "One side has shops boarded up and the sign says loading bay partially, but it is broken up and faded, so what's loading there?

"It looked as though it wasn't being used as a loading bay, and so I thought we were safe.

"And we struggled to make out that it was a loading bay."

Barry says that what he is "annoyed" about was the fact that they had a disabled badge for his wife, and he tried to park as close as possible to where he needed to go, but this was not "considered".

Barry Hilton was given a penalty charge notice

He added: "My wife can't walk too far, and when I went the car park was shut.

"I got as near as I could, so she didn't have to walk as far."

Barry, who lives in Atherton and is from Morris Green in Bolton, has since paid the fine of £70 because he said he did not want to take the risk, and he also did not have complete faith his appeal would be accepted.

He added: "It wasn't clear what we had to do.

"And I just wonder if there are others who have parked in the same location."

It comes after James Peppard raised the same concerns two weeks ago.

And although he appealed his fine on the basis that local authorities should not issue parking tickets if road markings are incorrect, this was rejected due to him parking in a "loading bay".

The penalty charge notice

A spokesperson for Bolton Council said:“In addition to the line markings, a sign is present to instruct drivers that the bay is for loading only.

"It’s council policy not to make comment on individual cases. Penalty charge notices (PCNs) must follow the legislative process and representations need to be made officially for them to be recorded, drivers who wish to challenge a PCN can do so via the usual appeals process.

“Blue badge holders are also able to park – free of charge and without time limit – in any of the councils on street pay and display bays or designated disabled bays.

"We have bays available nearby on Knowsley Street and Le Mans Crescent."

On its statutory guidance for local authorities, the government website says: "Authorities should not issue PCNs when traffic signs or road markings are incorrect, missing or not in accordance with the Traffic Regulation Order (TRO).

"These circumstances may make the order unenforceable.

"If a representation against a PCN shows that a traffic sign or road marking was defective, the authority should accept the representation because the adjudicator is likely to uphold any appeal."

The Citizens Advice website gives the following guidance on appealing parking tickets when lines are unclear:

"All car parks and roads with parking restrictions must have signs or road markings that make this clear.

"Your ticket should be cancelled if you can prove:

"You couldn’t see any road markings or signs; the signs or markings were hard to read – for example they’d faded or were hidden by trees."