COUNCIL chiefs in Darlington are checking the legality of their parking fine notices after a solicitor succeeded in getting his penalty withdrawn.

Simon Catterall was issued with a £30 fine after he stopped in Northumberland Street, where new parking meters are in place.

But Mr Catterall, public relations officer for the Tees Valley Law Society, challenged the fine after spotting some vital wording missing from the fixed penalty notice.

And a letter from council engineer Brenda Bowles told him: "The excess charge ticket does not have to specify that it is generated by the Darlington Borough Council (Short Stay on Street Parking Places) Order 2004, but it should state that it is an offence under the Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984 for the driver to fail to pay the excess charge.

"On investigating the photocopy of your excess ticket ... it does not appear that this statement had been typed on this ticket.

"I am, therefore, on this occasion prepared, without prejudice, to waive the excess charge."

Mr Catterall said that the incident raised questions about how many other motorists were due their money back.

"I would have paid up if it was a fair cop," he said.

"But I wasn't very happy about it and decided to investigate its authenticity with something of the zeal with which it obviously had been issued."

A council spokesman said: "We are aware of the query and the legal team is looking at it."