Birmingham Nurse's Snow Parking Fine Overturned After Media Pressure
A Birmingham district nurse has had a controversial £100 parking fine cancelled after a parking operator initially rejected her appeal, only relenting when local media stepped in to investigate the case.
The Snow-Covered Car Park Incident
Lynette O'Connor, a 57-year-old district nurse from Erdington, parked her Nissan Juke at the Chamberlain Building car park in Frederick Street, Birmingham's Jewellery Quarter, on Saturday, January 10. She had stopped briefly to visit a nearby Tesco store before continuing to see her son.
The car park had been blanketed by heavy snowfall from the previous day, completely obscuring the parking bay markings. Despite this, O'Connor carefully positioned her vehicle to one side of the car park and displayed her blue disabled badge in the window, knowing there was a designated disabled bay in that area.
Her visit lasted barely eight minutes, but days later she received a £100 penalty charge notice from parking operator Euro Parking Services for "not parking correctly within the markings of the bay or space."
Failed Appeal and Media Intervention
O'Connor immediately appealed the fine, explaining in her submission: "I would like to highlight that, under the weather conditions as seen in the images, the lines of the bay were obscured. I therefore parked accordingly to the parking guidelines to the best of my ability."
Despite her clear explanation and photographic evidence of the snow-covered car park, Euro Parking Services rejected her appeal. In their response, they stated: "After reviewing the details of your appeal and the evidence held on file, we must advise your appeal has been unsuccessful. The evidence confirms the vehicle was not parked wholly within the markings of the designated bay or space at the time of the contravention."
The situation only changed when BirminghamLive contacted the parking operator on February 3 to inquire about the fine. Following this media intervention, Euro Parking Services performed a dramatic U-turn.
Apology and Cancellation
This week, the company issued a grovelling apology letter to O'Connor, stating: "I am writing to you on behalf of the Enforcement Department at Euro Parking Services Ltd to offer our sincere apologies for any inconvenience caused by the Parking Charge Notice recently issued to your vehicle. Upon thorough review, we have identified that this PCN was issued incorrectly due to human error on our part."
The company confirmed they had cancelled the penalty charge notice and were taking steps to prevent similar errors in future. They added they were reaching out to all affected motorists to notify them of cancelled incorrect PCNs.
Nurse's Reaction to the Ordeal
Speaking about her experience, O'Connor expressed her frustration: "I think it's disgusting. I went briefly to the Tesco shop to get some things for my son in the snowy weather. If I had parked and been obstructive I could maybe understand. But they gave me a fine when the bays were covered in snow."
She questioned the logic of the fine: "If the lines are white and the snow's white, can you really see that? This is all about money – a money making scheme. It's the stress it causes. People pay it because they can't take the stress. But I'm 100 per cent not paying it."
The case highlights ongoing concerns about parking enforcement practices during adverse weather conditions and raises questions about the appeals process when clear mitigating circumstances exist.
