A insensitive parking firm refused to write-off a ticket given to a man who was forced to drive himself to hospital because he was having a heart-attack.
Clive Lucy, 56, was slapped with a £100 fixed penalty notice at Northampton General Hospital.
He was fined after stopping in an emergency consultant's bay as he rushed to be seen and at first they wouldn't budge.
With his focus on urgent medical care, he failed to notice his error after the dad started suffering from chest pains.
Although he has a disabled badge, it was a spot for those with a blue badge - and the letter soon arrived through the post.
His daughter Tazmin Lucy say that the best they could do was cut his fine to £40 before eventually those in charge 'agreed' that the signage on the bay was not clear enough.
She told The Sun : “My dad had a heart attack which is really concerning anyway, and he drove himself to the hospital.
"Obviously he wasn’t paying attention and was trying to get to the hospital as quickly as he could - we know now that he parked in the consultant's space and that is wrong, but he did it while panicking and in pain.
“He paid it initially, because he just wanted it to be over, and they did reduce it to £40."
GroupNexus, who help run the parking on the site on behalf of Northampton General Hospital, eventually revoked the ticket.
A spokesman told the publication: “We have now been back and reviewed the case and agreed to cancel the PCN in question.
“However, as I am sure you are aware, it can endanger many lives when people park on the ambulance bays so usually it is not looked on with much leniency.
“In this case it was a serious issue and we are all pleased the motorist in question received the medical care he needed and made a speedy recovery.”
A Northampton General Hospitals Trust spokeswoman added: “We would like to apologise for any distress caused to Mr Lucy and thank him for bringing this matter to our attention.
“Following a review of the signage in the bay, which is for Emergency Consultants only, improvements will be made to ensure the bay is more clearly signposted.
“We will also be refunding the cost of Mr Lucy’s fine to him.”
