A PARISH councillor has called on people to fight back against “ruthless” parking charges after winning an appeal against a £90 fine.

Paul Walters of Hurworth Parish Council has criticised the “scaremongering” tactics used by Smart Parking, who lease the car park outside Sports Direct in Darlington.

The car park in question uses automatic number plate recognition, and Mr Walters received the fine after his registration number did not correctly print on the ticket.

Despite paying the correct amount of money for the time spent in the car park, Mr Walters’s appeal was rejected because he had “not compiled with the advertised terms and conditions” of entering his correct registration number.

The councillor eventually appealed to Parking on Private Land Appeals (POPLA), which resulted in Smart Parking deciding “not to contest” the appeal

Mr Walters said it was a “complete injustice”

“They are trying to catch you – they want you to make a mistake

“I can only imagine how many older people who struggle with their eyesight or get confused by the instructions make very simple mistakes and are hit with a £90 fine.

“People think what is the point – they make you feel like you haven’t got a cat in hell’s chance – it isn’t right.

Mr Walters described the customer service as “faceless”

“They are a business and want to make money, but I’ve got a business and I make money in a fair and reasonable manner.

“My advice is to use the multi storey car park.”

The Northern Echo approached Smart Parking for a comment, but did not receive a response.