A DISABLED woman has been left distraught after she received a £50 fine after parking in a city parking space.
Emily Overton had thought she was allowed to park for 50 minutes as a blue badge holder.
Emily Overton has been left distraught after she received a fine for being five minutes lateBirmingham Mail
But she was slapped with the fine after she parked in a public parking space in Hill Street, Birmingham where the time limit is just five minutes, with no return within two hours.
The 34-year-old woman suffers from rheumatoid arthritis and fibromyalgia.
Now Emily is trying to appeal the £50 charge, which is reduced to £25 if paid within two weeks.
Emily, in an interview with BirminghamLive, said: “No disabled person can do anything within five minutes. It’s ridiculous. You need a much longer time slot.”
She is in constant pain because of her condition and has to take 15 pills at night.
On January 18, she went to the city centre and parked in the closest disabled spot on Hill Street.
She said: “I misread the sign for being 50 minutes as most disabled spots are for longer than five minutes.
“I came back thinking it was 50 minutes, and I found a ticket on my screen.
“He had observed my car for 20 minutes and found me in breach of the conditions as given on the sign.
“But the thing that really astounds me is that no disabled person can do anything within five minutes. Why the five minutes sign?”
A spokesperson from Birmingham City Council said: “There is a designated Disabled Persons bay located in Hill Street, provided to facilitate dropping off disabled badge holders – which helps to serve those requiring access to New Street Station.
“The bay is limited to a maximum stay of five minutes and the signage clearly informs motorists of this restriction.
“The surrounding streets and car parks provide a mixture of parking options for blue badge holders wishing to stay for a longer duration.”
Blue Badge holders can park on single or double yellow lines, where loading restrictions do not apply, for a maximum stay of three hours.
A time clock is required to be displayed alongside the Blue Badge to indicate the time of arrival, and vehicles must not be parked in a manner that causes an obstruction.
GOV.UK says: “A Blue Badge will help you to park close to your destination, either as a passenger or driver.
“When you park on yellow lines or in other places where there is a time restriction, you need to display the blue parking clock to show your time of arrival.
“The clock should be sent to you together with the Blue Badge. If not, you can get a clock from the same council that issued the badge.
“If you need to use a parking clock, you must display it on the vehicle’s dashboard or facia panel so that the time can be seen clearly through the front windscreen.”
Disabled badge holders can only park for five minutes in Hill Street, BirminghamBirmingham Mail