Barking: Man issued with 24 parking fines in three weeks

A man has been given 24 parking fines in just three weeks after leaving his car outside his east London home.

Tony Hawkins from Barking said he did not realise that his parking permit had expired before he went to Manchester at the end of August.

When he returned in late September, he noticed a pile of fines on his car.

Barking and Dagenham Council said it sent two reminders to Mr Hawkins before his permit ran out, but it was not renewed.

Mr Hawkins, 57, claims that on one day, four fines were issued within three hours.

He said some of the fines were illegible because they had been damaged by heavy rain, and he feared he could end up paying thousands of pounds for them.

He said: "I can pay them in dribs and drabs if I really squeeze my budget but I'm really scared if the other 20 come through [the post] because I've paid four already which has cost me £240.

"It's a phenomenal cost just because I didn't renew my resident parking permit on time."

Mr Hawkins argues that issuing multiple fines a day is against the London Councils' code of practice for civil parking enforcement.

He said: "I've been on every single London borough's website and if you query this with any other council where you're getting multiple charges on the same day, they will cancel all but one."

In a statement, Barking and Dagenham Council said Mr Hawkins was sent an email reminding him to renew his permit two and three weeks before it was due to expire.

"Unfortunately, the permit was not renewed, and he has since purchased a new permit. Where multiple tickets have been issued on the same day then they have been cancelled without a challenge."

It added that where other tickets had been appealed, Mr Hawkins would need to await the outcome of the challenge, and it urged him to get in touch with the council's parking services.

Listen to the best of BBC Radio London on Sounds and follow BBC London on Facebook, X and Instagram. Send your story ideas to [email protected]