How a Motorist was Fined for Having a Parking Ticket...Beause the Traffic Warden Could not Tell the Time
Daily Mail Reporter
A traffic warden was caught ticketing innocent motorists - because he couldn't tell the time.
He used a calculator to work out the expiry time of Dave Alsop's ticket, without realising the device worked in decimals and not minutes and hours.
Mr Alsop, 29, parked near Torquay harbour, Devon, at 2.49pm and paid £1.20 for 75 minutes, covering him until 4.04pm.
But when he returned at 3.41pm, he discovered a £50 fine on his car. He found the warden and showed him the parking ticket, which clearly had time left on it.
Dave Alsop was given a parking ticket because the traffic warden was using a calculator which worked in decimals - not minutes and hours
The warden disagreed and tried to prove his point with a calculator.
He tapped in 14.49 and added 0.75 to produce a total of 15.24, claiming this meant Mr Alsop's ticket had expired at 3.24pm, some 17 minutes before he returned to his car.
Mr Alsop, of Torquay, said: 'I tried to explain but he didn't have a clue. He just carried on doing other cars parked there.'
Happily for Mr Alsop, Torbay council waived the fee and apologised. It said: 'The civil enforcement officer is new.
'We have provided additional training to prevent this happening again.'
'He incorrectly calculated the expiry time when issuing this and two other penalty charge notices, which have all been cancelled without any money having been paid.
'We have written to Mr Alsop to apologise for any inconvenience caused.
'Checks have been carried out on all the relevant penalty charge notices issued by the new staff, and these three were the only ones affected all of which were cancelled.
'The civil enforcement officer who made the error was the only one offered the extra training.
'However, a briefing message was sent to all the other officers. There are no other motorists affected.'