A LYDNEY businesswoman and her colleague have been hit with a whopping £150 in parking fines in just five weeks despite paying correctly each time – because of a computer glitch.

Top to Toes nail and beauty salon owner Miranda Demirok and Sarah Webb say they have received their fifth parking charge notice even though they have confirmation of payment.

But following inquiries by the Review it has been revealed the hand-held computer used by parking enforcement officers was the cause of the problem.

Miranda, who parks at the car park owned by the Forest of Dean District Council in Newerne Street , said: “I set up an account with My Permit which offers a service whereby you can use your mobile phone to pay for parking and then receive confirmation of the transaction.

“The system works

by registering on your phone the ‘location code’ and stating your registration number and for how long you wish to park. You pay and then this is followed with a text message.

“For some reason the traffic warden has been unable to see this on their device and issued my colleague and me with penalty charge notices.

“We have appealed this on the basis we have received text messages confirming payment.

“This is the fifth time this has happened to me and each time I have to appeal, which I could do without.

“In total we have incurred about £150 in charges. We are both so angry and feel that something needs to be done.”

A spokesperson for the Forest of Dean District Council said: “We are sorry to hear that a small number of residents have experienced issues with their car parking permits and apologise for any inconvenience caused to them as a result.

“Following investigations, it has been identified that due to a technical issue the enforcement officer’s handheld device failed to identify valid permits. 

“The issue has been raised with the provider – Apcoa – who has assured us that this has now been resolved.”