A daughter says she will fight all the way to court after she was slapped with a fine for stopping her car for SEVEN seconds.
Susan Hatton pulled over at the end of a bus stop in Eastwood Road North, Leigh, to let her 84-year-old father, Ken, out.
Southend Council’s spy car spotted her and slapped her with a £35 ticket including two pictures of her dropping her dad off - one with the passenger door open taken at 11.21am and 38 seconds and by 11.21am and 45 seconds he was completely out of the car.
Mrs Hatton, 61, said: “My father was 84 at the time and six weeks later he was in hospital with pneumonia. He has emphysema in both lungs and he can’t walk that far. I thought why get a blue badge as he only goes up the road.
“I didn’t even get out the car.”
The fine came through the post stating she had been watched for one minute pulling over in the bus stop.
Mrs Hatton, who lives in Leigh, appealed but it was rejected and bailiffs instructed to chase her for the bill which has now spiralled to £167.
She says she will take the case to court if she has to.
She said: “£167 for all of ten seconds or less.
“We are talking about a few seconds and I wasn’t parked I’d stopped to let him out. I’d like to go to court, I want to have my say. It doesn’t seem at all fair that it can go on for a year and I haven’t been taken to court.
“It must have cost them a fortune to do this.”
Derek Kenyon, Southend Council’s parking manager, said the council had rejected the challenge.
He said: “However – as with all our correspondence- when we sent our response we also included details of the next stage of the process, if the objector wished to take the matter further.
“The latest communications we have sent to the resident also give information about the procedure. If the resident wishes to continue with her challenge we would strongly advise the follow the steps given in the details provided.”
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