£1,300 costs for nursery workers in parking fraud

One woman sold expired permits to another who illegally altered them

TWO nursery workers were ordered to pay more than £1,300 between them after using altered expired permits to park close to work.

Toptots worker Molly Mouncher, 23, of Homefield Road, Drayton, was caught out in Portsea using expired JA zone parking permits.

She had adapted permits supplied to her by Leanne Pettinger, 35, who lived in Rawlinson Terrace, King William Street in Portsea.

Pettinger was legitimately allowed to have the permits. But they were only legally allowed to be used for genuine visitors – not for parking near work.

Pettinger sold them to Mouncher, who altered seven expired ones to ‘dishonestly use the permits on multiple occasions’.

She managed to park for free for 18 days before the council’s senior criminal parking investigator caught her out – and impounded her 59-plate Nissan Qashqai.

Mouncher told investigators she knew her actions were dishonest but added: ‘It was a silly mistake, I was just trying my luck.’

Mouncher admitted seven charges of adapting a JA Portsea parking permit for use in fraud on February 12. She also admitted fraud under the Road Traffic Offenders Act 1988 for altering a permit to enable its repeated use.

Pettinger admitted supplying an article for fraud on January 6.

Mouncher and Pettinger were both prosecuted by the council at Portsmouth Magistrates’ Court for the offences. In court, chairwoman of the magistrates’ bench,

Joanna Townsend, imposed a community order on each woman.

Mouncher was subjected to a six-week electronically tagged curfew between 7.30pm and 6am.

Pettinger was ordered to complete a four-week curfew between 7pm and 6am.

Mouncher must pay £719.60 costs to the council and a £90 surcharge.

Pettinger must pay £413.96 costs and a £90 surcharge.

Both women have completed their curfews.