A MOTORIST has won a 20-month battle against a York parking fine.

Mark Hamilton, of Sherburn-in-Elmet, said he was given a £60 parking charge notice by York parking firm Minster Baywatch for parking briefly in a loading bay near York College’s football pitches in September 2015, while dropping his son off along with his sports bags and equipment.

He said he refused to pay the fine and subsequently received letters from debt collection agencies demanding as much as £237, but he wouldn’t give ground.

The matter eventually went to a hearing at York County Court earlier this month, at which a judge dismissed the claim by Minster Baywatch.

Mr Hamilton argued in his submissions that the wrong sign was posted where he parked, which was misleading, implying that parking was allowed after 5pm.

He said the sign was posted directly to the right of his vehicle and referred to ‘parking permit’ between the hours of 9am and 5pm.

The firm rejected this, saying the sign on the wall to the right of the vehicle stated: “These spaces are reserved for contractors’ vehicles only.. parking charge £60.”

The firm said: “The defendant is not a contractor and therefore had no authorisation to park where he did.”

Mr Hamilton claimed the sign was removed days after his appeal had alerted the firm to it being misleading. He also claimed parking staff lacked identifiable uniforms.

He said yesterday he felt vindicated in his refusal to accept the fine, adding: “I feel justice has been done.”

Minster Baywatch said that as a responsible operator, it would not be appropriate for it to comment on specific details relating to any case, but suggested Mr Hamilton’s views did not ‘reflect the full facts and matters of the case’.

It said it was a member of British Parking Association and was regularly audited by both the BPA and DVLA to ensure it adhered to strict rules regarding private enforcement and the handling of any charges issued. Any complaint was investigated by the association and DVLA and sanction points could be issued for any breach of code requirements made by an operator.

No points had ever been issued to Minster Baywatch, including for having non- uniformed employees.