A STUDENT who was refused a parking permit at York College has had her parking problem solved - thanks to a reader of The Press.

Hannah Bowater, 17, lives in North Newbald, about 25 miles away from the college, and there was no public transport that she could easily take to get her there each day.

Hannah passed her driving test in August last year, but when the college was rebuilt, it introduced a restriction that only drivers who had held a full licence for longer than nine months could have a parking pass.

After being denied a permit, Hannah had to walk four miles to catch a once-a-day bus from Market Weighton at 7.30am, when on several days her classes did not start until 11am.

After reading Hannah's story in The Press, Mike Smith, of Middlethorpe Grove, Dringhouses, has provided Hannah with off-street parking for her vehicle, free of charge, at his home, which is a fifteen-minute walk from the college.

Mr Smith said: "I have a daughter who will study photography A-Level next year, like Hannah, and I think the college has an unfair parking policy towards students that live out of York. I hope the offer will help solve Hannah's situation."

The shortage of parking spaces at York College has been a hot topic since it opened last September.

The new facility has 50 fewer parking spaces than at the former site in Tadcaster Road, despite having eight per cent more students.

Some students have resorted to parking on grass verges and neighbouring residential streets after, like Hannah, failing to secure a pass from the college. Graeme Murdoch, deputy principal at the college, said: "The system we implemented from the start of the 2007/08 academic year was designed to meet a number of objectives.

"These include reducing the number of vehicles on the campus, encouraging other modes of transport use and therefore reducing our carbon footprint.

"We concluded that the nine months with a full driving licence' arrangement for car drivers was the most appropriate way to deal with this situation.

"Inevitably, the introduction of this system will affect a few individuals."