Driver who tried to charge his electric car in Emsworth handed parking fine

Chris Raby from Farnham realised he could not charge his Nissan Leaf while being fully inside the parking bay, as reported by our sister paper the Chichester Observer.

Due to the design of the charging station, the cable was not long enough to reach the plug at the front of the car.

To remedy this, Mr Raby backed his car out of the bay so the cable would reach only to receive a parking ticket.

Mr Raby appealed against the ticket on the basis that it was ‘not possible' to park in the bay and charge the car.

He said: ‘I phoned the person and it was quite a difficult conversation, they were completely implacable and they said there's photographic evidence that it’s possible.

‘I said I'll meet you in the parking bay and show you that it’s impossible.

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‘I haven’t got a ticket for being six of nine inches out of the bay, I got a ticket for just being out of the bay and it’s not possible to charge the car fully inside it.

‘I’m hitting this very bureaucratic scenario where it’s not possible to charge your car without getting a parking ticket.

‘I feel like there's a complete lack of interest in what I'm saying.’

In response, Havant Borough Council said: ‘The council will not comment whilst an appeal is still being considered against a penalty charge notice.

‘The council takes public safety seriously, and its parking and traffic management team will always address alleged parking contraventions where identified in the borough, including safely parking within marked bays.’

A message from the Editor, Mark Waldron

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