G4S slapped with huge fines in row over parking outside sheriff court

Firm says safety reasons mean it must park close to building

Security firm G4S has been slapped with hundreds of pounds worth of parking penalties in a dispute at a Tayside court.

The company’s van has been repeatedly ticketed over recent weeks while it delivers prisoners to the sheriff court in Perth.

The firm had, until recently, parked its vehicle at the rear of the court in a council-run pay and display site, while staff picked up and dropped off inmates through a back door.

But an agreement to use the site has come to an end, forcing G4S to park illegally on a pavement around the corner.

G4S now parks at South Street and uses a side door which leads directly into the cells beneath the court.

And parking attendants have been seen sticking penalty notices to the van windscreen on a regular basis.

G4S said it needs to park as close as possible to the building to protect staff and prisoners, as well as passers-by.

The firm transports some of Scotland’s most dangerous criminals to and from court.

The company is now in talks with the local authority to resolve the issue and return the van to the back door.

Willie Galloway, G4S’s prisoner escorting operations director, said: “It is important that we minimise the distance between vehicles and court building entrances to ensure the safety and security of persons in our care and the general public.

“We have had special dispensation to park outside the rear entrance of Perth Sheriff Court but this permission has lapsed.”

Mr Galloway said: “We are in discussions with Perth and Kinross Council to regain this dispensation so that we can continue to provide a safe, secure and timely service to the court.”

No one from G4S or the local authority could confirm why the agreement to use the car park ended, although The Courier understands it was related to a row about money.

Last year, G4S was reprimanded by a judge after running up huge parking fines and trying to use them to cut its tax bill.

The firm claimed parking fines were a legitimate business expense, as it tried to keep staff safe by parking as near to premises as possible, sometimes on pavements.

But Judge Anne Scott ruled that G4S staff had “consciously and deliberately decided to break parking restrictions for commercial gain” and blocked the firm from claiming fines as a business expense.

A council spokeswoman confirmed that talks were ongoing with G4S to reach a resolution.

We are in discussions with Perth and Kinross Council to regain this dispensation

Picture: Steve MacDougall. A G4S vehicle being issued a parking ticket by a traffic warden.