PARKING attendants have been told to stop booking motorists who park inside double yellow lines in a York city centre street.

The move comes after a national parking watchdog upheld an appeal by a driver who claimed restrictions in Davygate were confusing, and he should not have been fined for leaving his vehicle in what appeared to be a parking bay.

Many hundreds of motorists are thought to have been given a ticket in recent years for parking in the evening in an area outside Betty's Caf, Borders and Debenhams, where the paving style on each side of the road might appear to indicate parking bays.

But City of York Council said today the drivers would not be given a refund unless they appealed at the time, and insisted that the fines had been "completely legal and enforceable by the council."

It said: "It did nothing wrong in issuing the PCN (penalty charge notice).... Each case is specific to the circumstances of that particular case and the decision is specific to that case alone and does not create a precedent for further cases."

However, it revealed it was now examining the arrangements in Davygate, saying: "In anticipation that motorists may now claim to be 'confused' and park on the area, the council needs to review the layout and if necessary make any changes to remove the that excuse."

The council is also looking at a "parking bay" in Fulford Road, near York Police Station, where double yellow lines along the edge of the road also prohibit parking in the bay inside.

Damon Copperthwaite, acting assistant director for city development and transport, said: "It is important that parking restrictions across the city are both clear and legal."

The motorists' watchdog, the RAC Foundation, said today it always wanted clarity about where motorists can and cannot park, and Davygate seemed like a case in point where restrictions needed to be made clearer.

"There are always some people who want to chance their arm, but most people want to park legally," added campaign manager Sheila Rainger.

The council said motorists always had an opportunity to appeal against parking tickets if they felt they had been issued unfairly. It denied claims that parking attendants had repeatedly expressed concerns to managers about booking motorists in Davygate, but had been ignored.

The claim was made by a man who said he worked for the parking department, who tipped the paper off about the successful appeal by a motorist to the National Parking Adjudication Service, an independent body which can overturn council parking fines.

The informant claimed some parking attendants had preferred not to patrol Davygate because of their concerns.

He also claimed drivers who had been booked previously because they were confused should also be entitled to a refund.

Are you the driver who won the Davygate parking appeal? Or have you been booked for parking there? Contact Mike Laycock on 01904 567132, or email mike.laycock@ycp.co.uk

Updated: 08:56 Saturday, January 21, 2006