Firefighter in his response car fined £60 after pulling into airport garage to reset satnav
HE SAYS HE WAS ONLY ON FORECOURT FOR 23 SECONDS
A FIREFIGHTER from Durham said he was made to pay a £60 fine for turning his response car around at a garage near East Midlands Airport – and had his appeal rejected more than a year later.
Ian Moore, the station manager at Durham fire station, said he was on his way to a meeting at Castle Donington fire station on January 22 last year when he accidentally took a wrong turn.
He used the BP Garage to stop and reset his satnav, claiming he stopped for around seven seconds and did not get out of his blue light response car.
Mr Moore says the car was on the forecourt for 23 seconds in total but, despite this, a ticket still arrived at the fire station in Durham a few days later demanding he paid a £60 fine for stopping in a “no stop” zone.
Mr Moore, 48, told the Post: “The satnav took us to a dead end. There was a pay as you go car park, but because we weren’t flying anywhere I just pulled into the garage, reset the satnav and went back the other way.
“Nobody got out of the car, but I got this letter saying ‘you stopped in a nostop zone’ and then a £60 fine.”
Mr Moore appealed the fine straight away, attempting to explain the circumstances around the incident to Vehicle Control Services, who issue the penalty charge notices to motorists.
However, more than a year later, he was told his appeal had been rejected.
After his appeal was rejected, Mr Moore made the decision to pay the fine.
There have been numerous complaints from motorists who received similar fines at the garage, which has become a notorious spot for drivers to be fined.
“It was my work vehicle,” he continued. I was driving, so I felt obliged to pay the fine. If we’d have seen the signs, we wouldn’t have turned around there - just thinking it was a garage forecourt we obviously thought it was OK to turn around there.”
He added: “Charging fire services for turning around on a garage forecourt when we are supposed to be there protecting the public is incredible, especially once the circumstances were reviewed by appeal - which took over a year. I can’t believe they are allowed to get away with it.”
A spokesperson for Vehicle Control Services Ltd said: “The terms and conditions for prohibiting vehicles from parking stopping on Red Route roadways and access roads are clearly set out on numerous signs located around the airport road network and specifically the fuel station area.
“Mr Moore’s vehicle was recorded by our mobile CCTV vehicle having been stationary on an access route through the petrol station forecourt directly adjacent to double red lines and one of our signs advertising the ‘no stopping’ requirement. The vehicle was recorded, having stopped for 40 seconds and did not display any hazard lights to indicate a problem and therefore was clearly parked in a manner to cause a potential hazard and obstruction for other motorists using the fuel station.
“Whilst we note from Mr Moore that he is a fireman with the County Durham & Darlington Fire Service, who was attending the Castle Donington Fire Station, we would point out that the vehicle Mr Moore was driving was not marked or liveried in any way to identify it as an emergency service vehicle and likewise he was not attending or responding to any emergency.
“We are satisfied that the parking charge was issued correctly and consider the matter closed as the parking charge has subsequently been settled.”