I was slapped with a £65 fine for ‘parking’ in a disabled bay – but it was my car’s SHADOW

A DAD was fuming after being handed a £65 parking ticket because his car’s SHADOW fell into a disabled bay.

Matthew Cole was slapped with the penalty notice after leaving his car in Lewisham on a sunny day – and was gobsmacked when he received the fine.

Matthew was fined £65 by the council because shadow of his car was in disabled spot

The driver was handed the notice despite being parked in an allocated bay

The dad explained that he parked his Ford estate car outside Blackheath Post Office in an unmarked bay while taking his daughter to a football match.

But in the sunshine, the front of his car seemed to have created 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 the parking company.

The gardener was shocked when he opened a letter weeks later saying that he had parked illegally in the disabled bay.

He tried to appeal the £65 fine – but his first plea was rejected.

Matthew told MyLondon: “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.

“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.

“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.”

Matthew says he has parked in the spot before with no problems