Man fights parking fine for ‘invisible’ yellow lines
A TROWBRIDGE man has accused Wiltshire Council of entrapment after he was hit with a parking fine for double yellow lines the council erased years ago.
Gary Zelley, 37, of Gloucester Road, was shocked to learn he had been issued a £35 fine for parking on the barely-there yellow lines the council had supposedly burned away on Westbourne Road.
This row over the yellow lines goes back to around 2015 when residents were slapped with fines for an error the local authority said it would rectify.
Fast forward six years and Mr Zelley said the council has ignored multiple emails where he documented the removal of the lines, which he said are still vaguely visible, but told him if he does not pay up then the fine will be doubled.
“The parking warden has come up the street not realising that the area should be free of lines but you can still faintly see them,” he said.
“It’s very much a bully boy tactic. I feel it’s entrapment for lines that shouldn’t even exist and you can clearly see they’ve been burned out.
“The warden is clearly taking photos at an angle to make it look like the lines are still there and issuing people with fines.”
Mr Zelley did not understand why tickets were still being issued and said the council should come and “burn the lines off properly”.
He added: “If they’re going to issue fines then they should lay the lines back down. It’s a bit of a sticky wicket on their part just to make a bit of money, I feel.”
However, since being contacted by journalists, Wiltshire Council has cancelled the fine issued to Mr Zelley and says the lines will be removed “as soon as possible”.
Cabinet member for highways, Bridget Wayman said: “We are sorry this Penalty Charge Notice was issued in error. It was cancelled and we have apologised to Mr Zelley. We have also reminded our parking team that the restriction in Westbourne Road has been amended.”
However, Mr Zelley has said the council has not been in contact.