It took Aftab Mahboob five attempts to overturn a £145 fine he got for driving on a bus lane so he could park on his driveway – next door to a bus stop (Picture: Aftab Mahboob / SWNS)
Romford residents keep getting fines for parking on their own driveway.
It’s got so bad, a terminally ill woman, who has since died, had to walk to a nearby carpark for a lift to hospital for cancer treatment, according to Aftab Mahboob.
He’s wasted a year of his life challenging a Penalty Charge Notices (PCN) issued after he parked outside his home in June last year.
Usually that would be fine, if it wasn’t for the bus lane he has to drive along in order to access his property, which is next door to a bus stop.
It took five attempts to successfully appeal the fine, which had escalated to £145.
Mr Mahboob said: ‘It was a year of my life. It’s the inhuman side that I’m really bothered about. It’s a big deal. There are a few of us who get the tickets.
‘It’s quite important to sort it out – otherwise we would get parking tickets every time we parked on our own drives.
‘I turn into my drive 30 metres from where I started to pull in.
‘Havering Council were nothing but aggressive. They kept sending me letters asking if I knew about the Highway Code. It felt patronising.’
Aftab Mahboob lives just one door down from this bus stop (Picture: Aftab Mahboob / SWNS)
It turns out Mr Mahboob was actually allowed to park this way all along.
When the fine was eventually overturned, parking adjudicator John Lane said: ‘The appellant stated that he was gaining access to his house or the entrance next to it that he rents.
‘The local authority’s Traffic Management Order creates an exemption to do so.’
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Havering Council blamed the initial decision on a ‘difference of opinion’ by one of its officers and Mr Lane.
A spokesperson said: ‘Our officer had to make a judgement as to what was a reasonable length of bus lane to use.
‘The adjudicator has ruled in favour of the resident and the council respects this outcome.’
But this isn’t enough to quell Mr Mahboob’s disgust at the ‘immoral’ way he and his neighbours have been treated by the council, who he believes owes an apology.
He said: ‘This is really wrong. I got a fine for parking on my own drive. I’ve lived here 16 years but the camera has just been put up.
It’s not possible to drive onto Mr Mahboob’s driveway without crossing the bus lane at some point (Picture: Aftab Mahboob / SWNS)
‘My father’s a bus driver so I have massive respect for them. We …read more
Source:: Metro
