Bedford Driving Lessons

A mother was fined £60 after stopping her car for one minute to read a parking sign. Claire Hallam, 45, pulled into the parking bay in Lewisham, south London, so that she could look at a sign telling her when she was allowed to park in the area. But as soon as she got out to read the sign – which has a big blue ‘P’ on it, indicating parking is allowed at some point in the day – she was told by a shop owner she should “move quickly” to avoid a fine. She dashed back into her car and left 60 seconds after she had parked. However, a CCTV camera caught her on tape and she was promptly issued with a £60 fine – £1 for every second she was parked in the space. She has since returned to the spot and found that the sign allows parking for 20 minutes between 10am and 4pm for loading, but otherwise there is no stopping between 7am-7pm. Mrs Hallam, a part time school co-ordinator, said she was “disgusted” that she could be issued with such a large fine for such a short stop simply to read the terms and conditions of parking. She said: “There was a big blue ‘P’ on the sign, so I pulled over to get a closer look and see how long I would be allowed to stop for. More