TRAFFIC WARDEN FINES WORKER INSTALLING LIFE-SAVING DEVICE
Charity to appeal after slamming penalty
A CHARITY has been hit with a £70 parking fine – as it installed a defibrillator in a town centre.
An Aeddonate contractor parked his van on a pedestrianised street to install a replacement defibrillator cabinet – which weighs at least 20 kilograms – outside a former Sports Direct store.
The installation – which had been expected to take 30 minutes – overran due to technical issues.
And the installer did not realise a traffic warden had slapped the parking ticket on his vehicle until he went back to his base. The parking ticket – which was issued by Staffordshire County Council in Gaolgate Street, Stafford – has angered Aeddonate officials and fundraisers.
The Stone-based charity supports the placement and use of defibrillators in communities.
Aeddonate chief executive Jamie Richards, said: “Our contractor hit a snag so the installation took longer than expected.
“He finished 20 minutes late and didn’t notice the parking ticket until he got back to the office. He must have been behind the wall wiring up the defibrillator when it was issued.
“I appealed the ticket. The council later sent me a letter saying it ‘sympathised’ but that the fine still stood.
“A defibrillator is a potentially lifesaving piece of kit and I’m disgusted. This new equipment was funded thanks to donations into our shop and that has been broken into three times recently.”
Aeddonate is still able to appeal against the parking penalty.
County Councillor Helen Fisher, cabinet member for highways and transport, said: “In these circumstances we would always advise people to contact us beforehand so we can look at putting in a parking waiver while work is carried out, particularly for a job like this. Unfortunately, in this case, we were not informed by this organisation.
“Gaolgate Street is in a pedestrianised area where deliveries can only be made at certain times and pedestrian safety is our top priority. The organisation can follow-up on this appeal as the letter sets out.”