A pregnant carer said she was stunned after being slapped with a parking fine while carrying out her role as a key worker.
Samantha Blake, 28, said she had parked up on double yellow lines during her shift so she could nip inside her home to get changed and freshen up before going back to work.
She left a note on her car to explain to wardens why she had temporarily parked where she had.
In it, she wrote: “I am a key worker, working for Steps Ahead, coming home to change, I am sorry for parking here.”
But when she returned to her vehicle, Samantha described the note as being discarded on the ground ‘like it was nothing’ – and in its place a £35 parking fine.
Speaking to the Daily Mail, Samantha said: “I was really angry and upset. What went through my mind at the time was, is this really essential? Should they be working during this pandemic?
“I checked and the city council website says they are working fundamentally to ensure roads and traffic is safe.
“I understand that, but I had left a note on the windscreen and the fact that had been ignored was ridiculous. It was on the floor when I came out.”
Samantha said she had gone inside her home at 9am, but when she returned, she was greeted with a parking ticket marked with a 9.18am time stamp.
And initially, she was worried about touching the ticket at all due to coronavirus fears.
Samantha added: “I kept thinking whether this person had been wearing gloves or a mask when they put this ticket on my windscreen.
“I read that the virus can potentially stay on a piece of plastic for up to eight hours - so was this person putting me at risk?”
She claimed her car was not blocking an entrance or putting any passing vehicles at risk.
Samantha appealed her £35 fine, but was initially dismissed.
After receiving a letter through the post informing her that her fine was still payable, Samantha forked out the cash.
Since then though, the council has reviewed her circumstances a second time and revoked the ticket.
A council spokesman said: “We fully appreciate the magnificent work being done by our fabulous NHS staff and care workers across the city, which is why we made council car parks free to use when the crisis began last month.
“We are also supporting the recently introduced street permits for NHS staff, carers and volunteers and our officers are trained to look for.
“In this case, our officer did not see the note and even if they had, none of the exemptions in place cover vehicles parked on double yellow lines.
“However, as a gesture of good will, we will be getting in touch with the customer to arrange a refund on her ticket.”
