A disgruntled Ayrshire driver has racked up a £176 debt after council bosses say he was “parking illegally” in a disabled bay.
Angry Allan Heslop was slapped with a £30 parking notice in Prestwick’s Main Street on September 29, 2020.
The 85-year-old’s ordeal began when he parked his Kia Venga car and left his wife of 60 years – Christine, 78, who has a disability – in the passenger seat while collecting her prescription from a chemist.
A shocked Mr Heslop returned to the vehicle only 15 minutes later to find that a parking warden had issued the vehicle with a ticket for breaching two rules.
The parking attendant said the first was because Christine’s disabled badge was out of date.
And secondly, he added, she had been left waiting in the car’s passenger seat while Mr Heslop collected her prescription for a chemist.
Mr Heslop, who lives in Prestwick, appealed the parking ticket later that day.
It was in vain, however, after the appeal was rejected by the Ayrshire Roads Alliance (ARA).
But the defiant OAP refused to pay the fine out of principle and his debt soared to £176 after it had been passed on to sheriff officers.
Mr Heslop declared: “The Ayrshire Roads Alliance management should be exposed. You would think they would use some common sense.
"We are both in our 70s and 80s and in a vulnerable group, and we kept being told not to do anything unnecessary by exposing ourselves to the virus. But nobody wants to know.
“My wife’s blue badge was out of date and I couldn’t go into any of the council offices because they were all closed due to the pandemic. I decided to park in the disabled bay because there was nowhere else to park on Main Street.
“I left my wife in the car because the government's message was to stay at home. I didn’t want to put her at risk.
“The parking attendant was rude, abrupt and ill-mannered. My wife was left in tears.”
Ayrshire Live took up the couple’s concerns with the ARA and asked if they would rescind the parking fees as a goodwill gesture.
ARA head Kevin Braidwood replied that blue badge holders are entitled to park in many places that are normally off limits and added there are rules which the holders must adhere to.
He insisted: “One of the rules is that holders should not allow non-disabled people to take advantage of their parking benefits while they sit in the car.
“In this instance, a £30 fine was issued and despite numerous reminders this fine was not paid. The debt is now in the hands of sheriff officers.”
A blue badge can be renewed online at https://www.gov.scot/apply-blue-badge or by contacting South Ayrshire Council at customerServices@south-ayrshire.gov.uk
Mr Braidwood added: “In this instance, no application was received until 26/01/22.”
Mr Heslop was dismayed by the road authority's response and has vowed to take the matter up with First Minister Nicola Sturgeon.
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