A furious motorist has been fined £50 for parking in an ‘invisible bay’ with no road markings or restriction signs.
James Horan, 27, thought he had found the perfect spot to leave his silver Kia while working at his office in Manchester, near Piccadilly station.
A stretch of the street had enough space between two sets of double yellow lines for two cars to park, seemingly for free, as there are no other parking restriction signs.
Angry: James Horan says he was left crossed after being fined £50 for parking in a space with no restrictions
Mr Horan, who works in advertising at Total Jobs, said he has been parking there for at least a year, whenever the space is available.
But in February, he returned from work to find a £25 penalty notice on his windscreen.
Manchester council said he failed to buy a pay and display ticket, despite the fact there are no bay markings on the road.
Mr Horan contested the fine, which increased to £50 after two weeks.
His appeal was rejected by the council, which repeated its original claim that he failed to display a ticket in a pay and display bay.
James Horan, 27, thought he had found the perfect spot to leave his silver Kia while working at his office in Manchester, near Piccadilly station
Mr Horan even provided his own pictures of the unmarked bays and tried to callthe council.
According to the council’s website, Heyrod Street should have ten pay and display bays.
But only eight of them are clearly marked on a separate part of the road near to where James parked.
The council’s website says that all their parking bays are ‘clearly marked with enough room for most cars and vans’.
The council reviewed James’ case and admitted that the bay lines were not marked.
His fine has been cancelled and the lines will now be repainted.
The stretch of the street had enough space between two sets of double yellow lines for two cars to park seemingly for free, as there are no other parking restriction signs
Mr Horan said he was relieved, but angry at the way the case had been handled.
‘I’m happy about it,’ said.
‘It was a ridiculous process. When you’ve got a full time job and other things going on life, it was one of those things I could just do without.
‘They make the appeals process so difficult, I found it really stressful.
‘How many other motorists might have been fined for parking there but didn’t contest it?
‘I hope the council will be contacting them as well to refund them.’
A Manchester council spokesman said: ‘This ticket was issued in error and will be cancelled.
‘The location in question should have been marked as a pay and display bay and the lines will now be repainted.’