Furious Shropshire drivers to protest over £100 parking fines
Furious motorists who have been handed £100 parking fines will hold a protest outside a car park.
People shopping in Market Drayton have been handed the fines after a new system was introduced at the car park in High Street, forcing customers to pay for parking over the phone.
But after numerous people were handed tickets for staying just minutes over the allocated time, residents have banded together and plan to protest outside the post office, which adjoins the car park.
Mike Smith, who runs the town's community Facebook page, has joined with Danielle Birch from Market Drayton to organise the protest.
He said: "Thankfully I have no need to use that post office and haven't had a fine ticket, but I have had a lot of messages from people explaining how annoyed they are at what amounts to a trap.
"There is a 10-minute window where you are not charged from when the camera records your registration.
"I would guess most people will be messing around trying to call the number on their phones if they have a signal which probably means you have a maximum of seven minutes to get to the post office get served get back and get past the camera.
"If you start to consider disabled and elderly users then it simply is unworkable. It is very unfair. If they gave 20 minutes free or a 20-minute window then everyone would be happy."
The protest will be held on February 4 from 11am to 1pm and organisers hope it will force bosses to bring back the original pay and display system.
The car park is owned by the same owners as the post office, but is managed by Creative Car Parking Solutions and drivers must pay to leave their car on the site using a credit or debit card over a mobile phone.
Charges begin at 40p for one hour, but if the car leaves within 10 minutes no charge applies.
But some motorists have been fined £100, reduced to £60 if promptly paid, for staying just minutes over the grace period, others cannot get a signal and some do not own a mobile phone.
Mayor of Market Drayton, Councillor Tim Beckett, said: "I was speaking to a couple at the weekend that were fined £100 for parking in the car park. They don't have a mobile phone and didn't see the signs and were disgusted that after having taxed their car and spending £20 on stamps they then had to pay £60 for parking."
Bosses of the car parking management company CCPS have defended the fines and said it "disputes that tickets were being issued unfairly". It claimed the system was adopted around the country because of its "reliability, efficiency and convenience".
