Battling Bill Robson saw red when police accused him of parking illegally on a yellow line.

Mr Robson, a keen photographer, took on the boys in blue - and now hundreds of other motorists could reclaim thousands of pounds in fines they have wrongly paid out.

Mr Robson, 73, who has been driving for more than 50 years and has travelled almost 1.5 million miles, was furious when he was issued a £30 ticket by a police constable in Bedale, North Yorkshire.

He has never received a ticket, never been caught speeding or stopped by police in all his years motoring - and was baffled by the ticket.

Mr Robson, of Ripon, North Yorkshire, spent £200 taking more than 250 pictures as evidence, highlighting the flaws of yellow lines and signs which were meant to warn the public.

He proved that prohibition notices were 22ft from lines they were intended to refer to - apparently to avoid putting poles on the cobbled square.

He showed notices were hidden high up lamp-posts and behind hanging floral baskets, and that some single and double yellow lines - one directly outside Northallerton police station - were "inoperative" because they did not have a single yellow bar on the end to mark where they ended.

Police looked into Mr Robson's claims after the fixed penalty was placed on his car in Bedale's Market Place, and handed them his damning dosier of pictures.

They agreed it was a fair cop and withdrew the summons.

They have now asked North Yorkshire County Council's highways officers to scour towns and villages to ensure all lines are painted correctly.

And they have promised not to issue any more tickets to drivers parked in dozens of areas where markings and signs are in question.

Mr Robson, of Lead Lane, said: "Someone respon-sible for the lines and signs has got egg on their face."