Drivers caught out by missing full stop in Shropshire Council 'no parking' bungle
Drivers in Ludlow were landed with fines all because of bad grammar on 'no parking' signs created by bungling council workers.
A vital full stop was missing on the signs which read 'No Parking Enforcement In Operation', when they should have read 'No Parking. Enforcement In Operation'."
Confusion resulted over parking enforcement signs recently erected in Castle Square in the town.
While the signs erected by Shropshire Council were intended to make it clear that parking was not permitted in the area, as parking was not permitted and enforcement was in effect under Covid-19 measures.
Fines have been distributed to drivers who have wrongly interpreted the warning – despite the fact that a missing full stop in the signage made this possible.
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Shropshire councillor for Ludlow North, Andy Boddington, said: "There was considerable confusion over the Covid-19 signs which banned parking on the square. The signs read 'No parking enforcement in operation'. They should have read 'No parking. Enforcement in operation'.
"For want of a stop, a message was lost and parking fines were issued."
Posting on social media, local resident Tracey Huffer said: "It's a joke, I actually noticed several parked vehicles with tickets issued! Someone needed to know their grammar when writing the signs!"
Louise Harding said: "Whoever it was who designed the signs needs to take a course in punctuation!"
Spokesperson for Ludlow Chamber of Commerce, Tish Dockerty, said: "The signs caused a lot of confusion – what did they mean? One full stop can change the meaning of a message completely. I'm appalled by the error – a 'schoolboy' mistake!"
Councillor Boddington added: "I would encourage anybody who's got parking tickets to challenge it. We believe that four people were fined and they will have to challenge these individually."
He believes that the error was made through the speed at which the signs were created and erected.
"The whole operation was literally done in days and you make mistakes when you do things in days," he said.
Shropshire Council has now included a full stop on the notices.
Steve Davenport, Shropshire Council’s cabinet member for highways and transport, said: “This was an honest mistake and we apologise for any confusion caused. The signs in question were intended to read ‘No Parking. Enforcement In Operation’ but the full stop had been accidentally omitted. Once the error was spotted the signs were corrected and have been replaced.
“Anyone who feels they have been confused by the signs and have received a Penalty Charge Notice is entitled to follow our appeals process. It should be noted that all who had parked in this area had parked in a pedestrian area, which is not permitted, and is also irresponsible given the current social distancing guidelines.”
