A London council painted a disabled parking bay around a man’s legally parked Audi in New Addington, south London, then issued him four penalty charge notices while he was on holiday, only for the tickets to be cancelled later. 

 

The owner returned to find the road marking contractors had painted lines and a wheelchair symbol around his car on 17 November, despite no restrictions being in place when he parked. Parking attendants unaware of the situation issued four PCNs dated 22–26 November, each carrying a £160 charge if enforced. 

 

Croydon Council said its contractor normally records the registrations of vehicles present when bays are installed so they are not penalised, but a communication breakdown meant a warden did not see the exemption and issued notices. The authority later confirmed those PCNs were cancelled before the video of the incident went viral online. 

 

The council also apologised for the confusion and said painting around stationary cars was “fairly common practice” to avoid delays in installing disabled bays, which are laid out to assist residents with mobility needs and usually require applications under the local scheme. 

 

The resident criticised Mayor Jason Perry’s refusal to apologise publicly, calling the response “disgraceful” and saying he shared the footage because of previous issues with the authority over parking. At a full council meeting on 10 December, a local councillor pressed the mayor for assurances such errors will not recur and questioned how many other motorists might have been affected. 

 

Transport and parking enforcement experts note that proper advance notice is typically required when traffic regulations change, and errors in communication can lead to wrongful ticketing even if penalties are later withdrawn.

 

Looking ahead, the council has promised to review internal communication procedures between road-marking contractors and enforcement officers to prevent similar incidents, and residents are awaiting clarification on notice procedures for future bay installations.

 

Key Takeaways

 

A disabled bay was painted around a legally parked car and four fines issued before council cancelled them due to internal miscommunication.

 

The mayor declined to apologise, sparking criticism from the resident and local councillors.

 

The council says practice will be reviewed to improve communication and avoid repeating the error.

 

Adapted From 

 

https://www.standard.co.uk/news/london/croydon-council-paints-disabled-bay-around-car-parking-warden-fines-b1261391.html

It was reversed, but the man sought publicity anyway. Stop moaning, there was a mistake made, a mistake that was corrected before you started moaning publicly.