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Driver caught by parking rule gets fine cancelled

Martin Heath
BBC News, Northamptonshire
Martin Heath/BBC Black Honda Jazz parked a short distance from a kerb, with block paving between the pavement and the car. There is a hedge to the right of the picture and a modern two-storey house to the left.Martin Heath/BBC
The rule means cars cannot be parked more than 50cm from the kerb

A driver who managed to get a family member's fine for a parking infringement cancelled said more motorists could see their penalties dropped.

The £70 fine for parking more than 50cm (19.7in) from the kerb in Northampton was scrapped after Richard Smith noticed there was no measuring device in the council's photo of the incident.

After a Freedom of Information (FOI) request, he was told by the council it had issued 350 tickets for the same offence in the last year, bringing in £10,000 in revenue.

West Northamptonshire Council said it was "standard practice" for officers to carry measuring devices, but instructions on how to appeal against fines was given on the reverse of penalty notices.

Richard Smith said a family member received the penalty charge after parking in her own street.

Mr Smith said: "She woke up next morning to a ticket on her car and she said, 'What do I do":[]}