Badge holder livid over parking ticket

A disabled pensioner has vowed she would rather go to court than pay a fine for displaying her parking permit the wrong way around in her son's car in Oswestry.

Joan Bertling and her son Sven Evans received the £35 ticket after the pensioner accidentally left her disabled parking permit facing the wrong way on the dashboard.

Although the permit was left in clear view outside Shropshire Council's Castle View offices on Wednesday, the permit's photo ID was left on display by mistake.

Mrs Bertling, 76, said she was 'livid' the innocent mistake was enough for a traffic warden to slap a parking ticket on her son's car.

Shropshire Council today invited the pensioner to appeal if she felt she had been treated unfairly.

"I have always left the photo ID side up and it has never been a problem," Mrs Bertling said.

"I have problems with my eyesight and to be honest although it says 'this way up' on the other side of the permit, I never noticed it before.

"I am livid that the warden did not just leave a note advising me to turn the permit the right way around.

"Instead they have given us a ticket but I am refusing to pay it.

"I think it is terrible a warden can't see what happened and accept it was an innocent mistake."

Her 50-year-old son Sven, from Gobowen, said: "I take my mum here and there because she can't see very well and has problems walking.

"We parked at the disabled parking bays and popped into the library next to the council offices.

"I was only in for a few minutes and when I came back out a parking ticket was on the car. I think it is ridiculous and we will be fighting this all the way.

"My mum can't see well so she didn't notice the permit was the wrong way up."

Councillor Simon Jones, Shropshire Council Cabinet member for transport, said: "There is an appeals process people can take up if they feel a Penalty Charge Notice has been issued unfairly.

"Details of how to submit a written challenge are on the back of the notice that was found on the vehicle."