Parking madness has driven me out'

9:15am Thursday 11th October 2001

A man has won his third parking ticket battle against Croydon Council, but blames the parking stress for driving his business out of the borough.

Alan Standing, 62, of Sunnycroft Road, South Norwood, runs a chauffeuring firm from his home, which has a yellow line outside.

He claims that ticket wardens have pounced while he washed or decorated his car in front of his house and slipped indoors for a moment.

But so far, he has had the last laugh. In 1995, he won his appeal because the yellow line was too faded.

And in 1999, the Parking Appeals Service awarded him £175 compensation after the warden wrongly issued the ticket, and said the car was outside Mr Standing's next door house, which has a parking bay.

This time, the warden repeated his mistake and issued the ticket for next door, so Mr Standing won his appeal again, a decision that the council plans to contest. But he has had enough and is about to move to Hampshire.

He said: “This council does nothing for people trying to help themselves and I've decided I can't spend my time fighting this stupidity.

“They shouldn't be seeking city status, but finding the brains to be a parish council.”

He admits the car was technically parked illegally and added: “I abide by the law as much as I can until the law becomes an ass. I would have paid them if they had issued them correctly.”

A Croydon Council spokes-man said they would fight the latest decision because the ticket should be a rough indication of where the car is.