A FURIOUS driver who used a car park to drop off and pick up a friend has been fined £60...after being 'wrongfully' accused of staying there all day.

Clare Manghan, of Southend, has blamed the mistake on “faulty cameras” operating at Southend Airport Retail Park.

The 49-year-old, who works in education, dropped off a friend for work at 5.30am in the morning, before leaving the car park and making her own way to work at a primary school in Barking, east London.

Ms Manghan says she returned at 5.30pm to pick the friend up before driving home.

“A couple of months later I received a fixed penalty notice saying I had been in there all day,” she said.

“The cameras must be faulty because they should have picked me up leaving and returning again.”

Echo: Upset - Clare ManghanUpset - Clare Manghan

She has been ordered to pay £60 to avoid being taken to court over the fine, despite providing evidence to Excel Parking Services her car had been parked all day at the school.

Excel has rejected the evidence, which includes a clear time she signed into work.

“I’m really shocked that a state operated school are saying to them my car was with them and that is not good enough,” Ms Manghan, who says she won’t be returning to the retail park, said.

“I am probably going to have to pay the fine because I don’t really want to go to court.

She added: “How many people are going to end up with a ticket because the camera doesn’t register they have left?”

Ms Manghan is not the only person to have fallen foul of the airport retail park cameras, where visitors are allowed four hours free parking.

In 2019, Tallula Moore, of Rochford, made two shopping trips to Southend Airport Retail Park on September 5 and 7.

But ParkingEye, which previously ran the carpark, accused her of entering on the fifth before leaving on the seventh and she was forced to stump up £100.

A representative for Excel Parking Services Ltd said: 2We were unable to accept the evidence Ms Manghan submitted with her appeal as it did not contain anything to associate it with the school where she claims she (and her vehicle) was.

"We have checked the data from our on site ANPR (Automatic Number Plate Recognition) cameras and this confirms that her vehicle entered the Airport Retail Park at 05:44 and exited at 16:12, which was well in excess of the 4 hours maximum period of permitted parking.

"Ms Manghan’s appeal against the Parking Charge is still in progress and she has informed us that she is obtaining further evidence to support her appeal and as soon as we receive the further evidence we shall review the situation."