Man returns home to find disabled parking bay around his car

Builder says local authority workers painted lines to create space for neighbour who died six weeks ago

A Fife man has slammed bungling council officers for painting a disabled parking bay outside his home that should have been for his neighbour who died six weeks ago.

Ballingry resident Wullie Campbell said he was in disbelief when he returned home to Kirktoun Gardens to find Fife Council had painted the restricted parking space around his BMW car while he was at work.

The space should have been for his next-door neighbour who, he said, had been waiting for more than a year for the council to provide the dedicated parking spot.

While the parking spot has now been created, it has come too late for the neighbour, who passed away before Christmas.

“At first I thought it was someone playing a practical joke, then realised it was real,” said Mr Campbell.

“The paint must still have been wet, it was that fresh. The disabled bay must have been intended for my next-door neighbour who had been waiting for a year for a dedicated space.

“Typically, it’s come too late for him as he sadly died six weeks ago.”

Mr Campbell, a 34-year-old builder, said he had not received notification the council was intending to paint the bay.

“I would have preferred to have moved the car first and it’s a good job I wasn’t away on holiday as, knowing my luck, I would have been given a couple of parking tickets for having my car in the wrong bay.

“I contacted the council to let them know that the person it was intended for has passed away but I’ve not had anyone get back to me.”

Responding to the criticism, Lesley Craig, a Fife Council technician engineer, said: “We work through disabled bay requests as they come in and aim to get bays marked within three months of a site visit. The visit for this location was carried out in December 2019.

“The disabled parking bay was positioned in the end bay of the general parking bays, opposite numbers 28 and 30.

“End bays tend to make it easier for a disabled person to get out of a car, as there is safe/unobstructed access to a footway.

“We were not informed that this disabled bay was, unfortunately, no longer required, however, we have now requested its removal.

“In the meantime, this bay will not be added to our Traffic Regulation Order, so it will not be enforceable.”

Out of line: Wullie Campbell beside the freshly painted bay marked out around his BMW.