Post-run parking charge is overturned

Simon Cleaver parked in Gosport to cheer on his wife during the Great South Run on October 22, and downloaded an app to pay extra for the parking when his time was up.

But due to the typo – of pressing the letter O when he meant a zero – he was issued with a parking fine of £45 by Gosport Borough Council.

It was only by appealing and asking Gosport MP Caroline Dinenage for help that the decision was overturned.

Simon said: ‘I paid up for a few hours at the machine and took the time to download the parking app.

‘This is a good result for me, but it is ridiculous to have to go to these lengths to get it done.

‘Other people will get caught by these scare tactics, and I think that it is an unethical and unfair process and moneymaking scheme.

‘It just seemed an entirely disproportionate response to an honest mistake.’