A student was given a parking ticket as he rushed to help an old lady
who had fallen over.
Drew Hollinshead, 21, was driving in Winton, Dorset, when he noticed an
elderly lady lying on the pavement. He swiftly pulled over to help.
When the woman was safely back on her feet, he returned to his car where
he found a Bournemouth Council parking warden issuing a £70 fine for
stopping in a disabled parking bay without a permit.
He said: "I saw an old woman fall down and stopped for around 30 to 45
seconds at the most to help her.
I went back to my car and there was a parking officer who was giving me a
ticket. He must have seen what was happening and that I was helping the
old lady.
I asked him why he was still giving me the ticket and he said: 'It gives me no great satisfaction to give you this ticket'.
Any normal person would have turned a blind eye when they saw why I had
stopped as I just got out, helped this old lady to get up and went back
to my car."
Drew said that he ripped the ticket up half in the heat of the moment
and threw it in the bin, but later retrieved it.
"It says that it costs £70 if paid within 28 days of the date that it
was issued or £35 if paid early, within 14 days, but it's not the cost
that matters, it's the principle of it.
I tried to do something good and then something bad happened because of
it.
I stopped in the disabled bay as it was the nearest place to where the
old lady was.
"There was space for about four cars and it was completely empty, so it wasn't like somebody was waiting to use it and I was blocking the space. Under the circumstances, I think it's ridiculous." A spokesperson for Bournemouth Council said that they are not able to comment on individual cases. Margaret Leslie, Operations Manager for Parking Services, said: "Any motorist receiving a fine can appeal against a ticket through the contact details given on their Penalty Charge Notice. We give full consideration into all individual cases and take mitigating circumstances into account."
Drew said that he ripped the ticket up half in the heat of the moment
and threw it in the bin, but later retrieved it.
"It says that it costs £70 if paid within 28 days of the date that it
was issued or £35 if paid early, within 14 days, but it's not the cost
that matters, it's the principle of it.
I tried to do something good and then something bad happened because of
it.
I stopped in the disabled bay as it was the nearest place to where the
old lady was. "There was space for about four cars and it was completely empty, so it wasn't like somebody was waiting to use it and I was blocking the space. Under the circumstances, I think it's ridiculous." A spokesperson for Bournemouth Council said that they are not able to comment on individual cases. Margaret Leslie, Operations Manager for Parking Services, said: "Any motorist receiving a fine can appeal against a ticket through the contact details given on their Penalty Charge Notice. We give full consideration into all individual cases and take mitigating circumstances into account."
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