Bizarre Lutterworth parking fine is finally dropped – with a little help from the Harborough Mail!
A driver from Lutterworth who said he would risk a jail term to avoid paying a parking fine has been let off the hook.
Bruce Graham parked and charged his car at Morrisons in Lutterworth, earlier this year, when the charging cable became jammed in his vehicle.
After calling the helpline on the machine to no avail and the AA, which said it could be up to 90 minutes before their arrival, frustrated and cold, Mr Graham took matters into his own hands.
He jumped on the mechanism to release it, breaking the casing around the port on his car.
The incident meant he went 50 minutes over the two-hour free car parking and, as such, received a fine from Euro Car Parks, which manages the car park.
Having had two appeals rejected, he refused to pay, and was chased by a debt firm for £170 – increased from the original £60 fine. He was warned that not paying the fine would escalate the matter to court.
However, Mr Graham said he was prepared to risk court, and even ‘seven days in jail if needed’, before paying the fee.
However, since contacting the Harborough Mail with his story, he has been let off the fine.
The Harborough Mail contacted Morrisons whose staff were able to cancel the ticket.
Mr Graham said: "I’d like to say a massive thank you to the Harborough Mail and the management staff at Morrisons for coming to this decision. It’s pleasing to know that common sense can still prevail!"