Pensioner issued £70 fine just minutes after disabled bay painted round car

A 66-year-old man has been left in disbelief after a warden handed him a substantial parking fine just minutes after the council painted his long-awaited disabled bay outside his home. Graham Tufft, 66, from Newport, Wales, was served a £70 parking fine for not having his blue badge just five minutes after Newport City Council finished installing his designated disabled parking bay on his street - despite the paint on the tarmac still being wet.

"I didn't even get chance to get the badge and put it in my car. My wife walked outside and saw the fine," Mr Tufft told WalesOnline.

"I waited two years and three months for this disabled bay to be painted outside my home. I have a below-knee amputation. I have a splint on my other leg, heart failure and diabetes."

Contractors from Newport City Council arrived at East Usk Road, Newport, on Monday afternoon and marked out the space around his car, as Mr Tufft had requested. But within minutes of the job being completed, Mr Tufft told how a parking warden placed a penalty charge notice (PCN) on his vehicle. If paid within two weeks, the fine will be £35. However, past this window, it will increase to £70.

His wife Janice said: "We weren't actually sure whether we had to display the badge in the car or not, as obviously the car is registered to our address.

"So as they were painting the space I went online to search what to do. It said you need to display the badge, so as soon as they were done I went outside to pop it on the dashboard.

"I noticed a piece of paper. At first, I thought it was some information left by the guys that installed it. Then I opened it and saw it said fixed penalty notice and well, I was in disbelief. It is likely just a coincidence, but, it is an unbelievable one at that. The paint on the floor was still wet."

Mr Tufft said that to him the oddest part is that they rarely see traffic wardens in the street.

He added: "I feel like the warden was waiting for the contractors to leave, waiting around the corner. You don't see a parking warden here, you don't see a policeman. It's pretty quiet around here."

The couple said they have started the process of appealing the penalty charge notice and have contacted Newport City Council to raise their concerns.

The Express contacted Newport City Council for comment and a spokesperson said: "The council is responsible for civil parking enforcement in Newport. Once a penalty charge notice (PCN) is issued, it is passed over to the South Wales Parking Group, who administer the collection of fines and deal with any challenges to PCNs for councils across the south-east.

"The recipient of the PCN in this case has followed the instructions on the notice and issued a challenge to the South Wales Parking Group. As is standard procedure when dealing with a challenge to a PCN, the South Wales Parking Group will contact us to ask for all of our available information on the case so they can determine the next steps.

"It would therefore not be appropriate for us to comment further until the challenge is dealt with."