A COUNCIL could face being inundated with requests for parking fine refunds after failing to correctly follow parking restriction regulations.

Parking in Richmond has become highly contentious for many who say they have been left unable to park near their homes after two-hour disc parking was introduced in many parts of the town in 2013.

One woman who lives and works in the town centre says she received £500 worth of parking fines last year for parking in the road behind her pub.

Tenille Wren, landlady of the Town Hall Hotel, said she and other residents in the Tower Street area must move their cars every two hours throughout the day until 6pm - or pay £70 a year to park in a council car park some ten minutes walk away.

She said a number of elderly residents have been affected and it is understood one has got rid of her car as a result.

But motorist Andy Essex, who lives near Tower Street, has successfully contested one of his parking fines after taking the matter to a Traffic Penalty Adjudicator - which ruled the fine could not be upheld as the parking bays were not correctly marked.

The area of land in Tower Street was included in the disc parking zones when responsibility for parking enforcement was handed over from police to North Yorkshire County Council.

Before this, cars were found to be parking in time-restricted zones all day, leading to concerns that spaces for shoppers were being blocked up in towns such as Richmond and Northallerton.

Mr Essex said the parking fine which he successfully contested was issued for staying 12 minutes over the allotted two hours. It was his fourth penalty he has received for parking near his home.

He said he decided to contest the whole issue of parking enforcement in that area, adding: “It’s confusing signage and the bays aren’t marked out properly.

“The council says they are marked out with flat bricks, but where I was parked there wasn’t even flat-sided bricks.”

He lodged an unsuccessful informal and then formal appeal to the appeals officer at Scarborough Borough Council, which oversees parking enforcement on behalf of North Yorkshire County Council.

He was also told the parking bays weren’t marked out with white paint because the area is cobbled, even though the cobbled market place has white painted bays.

It was then he took the matter to the traffic penalty adjudicator, who upheld his appeal.

North Yorkshire County Council confirmed it had received the ruling from the adjudicator. A spokeswoman said: “We will be considering that finding, with a view to taking the appropriate action.”

In his findings adjudicator Andrew Barfoot ruled that marking parking bays in such a manner was not permitted under the regulations and that there were no white bay markings.

“I conclude it is not adequate to alert the motorist, who would expect to see white bay markings, to the fact this location is a controlled parking bay.

“Furthermore, even if marking a bay in this manner were permitted in principle, I am not satisfied the particular location where Mr Essex parked is actually delineated as a bay in the manner the council suggest.”

Now it is believed other residents intend to contest their parking fines.

Ms Wren said she has already paid her £500 fines but now intends to seek a refund under the latest ruling.