A man says he was stunned to return to his legally parked car only to discover that Croydon Council had painted a disabled bay around it, and issued him with four parking fines.
While the council's road-marking contractors were aware of the parked car, a breakdown in communication meant its own parking warden fined him four days in a row black Audi.
Silva Stone, who had left his black Audi convertible on a road in New Addington where no restrictions or yellow lines were in place at the time, said he had every reason to believe the spot was safe. "I'm thinking I'm safe, I can travel, my car's good," he said.
Footage he posted on Facebook from 17 November at 11:52am shows Croydon Council's road-marking team painting a disabled bay around his empty vehicle. By midday the bay had been completed and the council truck had driven off.
@silvastone This is so crazy. #Croydon #Council making up the rules and bringing PTSD stress anxiety just because they can. Guys, please share this comment and blow this up because this is illegal. How can I council decide to make a bay round a parked car and then the person? We truly are living law less time 🤦🏿♂️🤦🏿♂️🤦🏿♂️🤦🏿♂️🤦🏿♂️🤦🏿♂️🤦🏿♂️ Comment,share and repost. @yourcroydon
♬ original sound - Silva Stone
Mr Stone said he was shocked when, just before 8am on 24 November, a Croydon Council traffic warden was filmed issuing a penalty charge notice, followed by a second ticket placed on the car the next day by the same officer. A total of four penalty charge notices (PCNs) were were issued between 22-26 November.
The PCNs carry a £160 charge each, reduced by 50 per cent if paid early. The video later shows another man removing the penalty notices from the Audi's windscreen.
In the clip, he expresses frustration at the council and its enforcement team, saying: "This is not on, it's not fair. Clearly there is no communication* you are just running it however you want just to make profit. It's like they are bullying."
Meanwhile, a New Addington resident named Sylvia Rooney later posted in a local Facebook group to explain that the bay had been installed for her. She wrote: "This car has been parked here for one week.
"The council put in a disabled bay for me and this car parked in there. It has two parking tickets already for no badge sign. Does anyone know who owns it?"
Sylvia's post on the New Addington Pathfinders Facebook page attracted a flurry of comments, with some members describing the driver's actions as "annoying and selfish".
New Addington North's Labour councillor Kola Agboola responded to residents' questions about who can use the bay. He explained: "Unless the bay has a sign with your vehicle reg only, I am afraid anyone with a disabled badge can use it." He added that he believed the parking team were aware of the situation and said he would "reinforce reporting on it so it can be removed."
Mr Stone's video has now attracted thousands of views and more than 300 shares, sparking heated debate in local groups. He urged people not to jump to conclusions, saying: "Please, before you comment, find out all the facts, you might not know what happened."
Mr Stone also doubled down on his criticism of the council. "Somebody needs to be held accountable for this because there is no communication and you are there busy giving tickets and just raising blood pressure," he said.
Croydon Council later responded directly to Mr Stone in the comments section of the video, confirming that the fines would not stand. A council spokesperson also told the Local Democracy Reporting Service: "Our road markings contractor painted lines for a new disabled bay on 17 November in response to a request from a resident.
"The contractor painted around a car, as is standard practice, otherwise they would have to wait for the space to be free, which may have taken weeks. The contractor took a picture of the car, so we knew not to give the owner a fine.
"Unfortunately one of our parking attendants was not informed and issued parking tickets. However, these were not processed into fines because we had a note on the system from our contractor. The tickets were cancelled a week before the video was uploaded to social media, and we have apologised for the confusion.
"It is unacceptable that our parking attendant has received verbal abuse online. We ask that any residents with concerns should contact the directly and not abuse any member of staff carrying out their duties."
