OAP 'disgusted' at Hartlepool parking fine after confusing the letter 'O' for a zero

Dereck Bullock received the penalty after travelling more than 100 miles to visit Hartlepool at the end of July.

Mr Bullock, 75, is from Darley Moor, in Derbyshire, and has been a regular visitor to town for his fishing hobby after his wife Jenny passed away five years ago.

His latest trip, however, ended with a surprise letter from Northwest Parking Management stating he had parked at Hartlepool Marina car park, in Navigation Point, without paying.

Derek told the Mail he was “absolutely” surprised when he received the fine as he had paid £8 for a 24-hour stay.

But the company insists the fine was “correctly issued” as “drivers must enter the full and correct vehicle registration into the payment machine”.

Dereck said: "I thought I’d done the right thing. I paid the £8 for the day and low and behold, a week after I’d been fishing they sent a letter saying I was illegally parked.

"I thought this isn’t right, because I still have the ticket.”

Following an appeal, Derek was told he had not entered the vehicle registration correctly as he had put in twice the letter “O” instead of two zeros and the fine was reduced to £20.

The former steel construction worker has always been parking at Navigation Point on his visits to Hartlepool and this has been the first time he has been fined.

The grandfather-of-two, who has vowed to park elsewhere during future visits, added: “To me, it’s disgusting. I don’t use computers. I know nothing about all that business and I thought I’d pressed the right buttons, I put my registration in as it said.”

Machines at the site were changed back in June when the car park was made cashless and higher prices were introduced.

Northwest Parking Management said: ''The 48 x terms and conditions signs located throughout the car park and around the pay & display ticket machines clearly state 'Drivers must enter the full and correct vehicle registration into the payment machine'.

"If a driver fails to do this then a Parking Charge Notice is issued correctly. The appeal response in this case was in full accordance with the British Parking Associations Code of Practice.”