Bus lane fines gaffe angers St Annes taxi driver

St Annes cabbie Graham Rushton says the county council is wasting tax payers’ money demanding fines which are not due after he was stung by cameras on Preston’s Fishergate.

Its parking service tried to fine him in December, in February and in April, for driving down the reintroduced Bus Only lane on Fishergate during restricted hours.

But as a licensed Hackney cab driver he is permitted to use his silver Mercedes vehicle on the route at all times, unlike private hire cars which cannot.

Graham was astounded to discover Lancashire Parking Services does not keep a database of Hackney drivers.

After making representations and appeals, his fines were withdrawn or quashed.

The Whitesides cabbie said: “How many times do I need to do this? How much taxpayers’ money are they wasting like this?”

More than 40,000 drivers have been nabbed by the cameras on the main shopping street in the city, raking in more than £1m for County Hall.

Peter Bell, the council’s regulation and enforcement manager, said: “We are adding Mr Rushton’s vehicle onto the exemption list to stop it from happening again.

“We previously had a technical issue with some evidence provided to us, which has now been fixed, and we were able to view the information that he provided.”

“We don’t have details of all Hackney cabs from across Lancashire. We’re currently reviewing this arrangement.”