Ticket the old, they'll always pay: How the ruthless parking cowboys tell their wardens to exploit the vulnerable Daily Mail Parking Campaign

  War veterans, great-grandmothers and vulnerable hospital patients are singled out in 'unjust and immoral' practice 

  Dozens of elderly drivers tell Mail how they are being threatened and pursued by bailiffs over minor parking queries

  Many have fallen victim to a string of 'dirty tricks' with companies said to use intentionally small warnings on signs

  Scroll down to print off your free 'Get Lost Parking Pirates' sign, and for details on how to receive a sticker by post

‘There is a veil of secrecy about the business practices of private car park operators that needs to be lifted. 

THE BULLY TACTICS

·         Unclear or missing signage on parking machines, making it difficult to buy the correct ticket

·         Overly complicated pay machines

·         Hefty fines for mistakes such as entering the wrong registration details into pay-and-display machines

·         Wardens allegedly instructed to never give information about the motorist’s rights to appeal 

·         Information about how to appeal is written on tickets in tiny font, making it difficult for elderly people to read

·         Tiny signs warning against leaving car parks to get change to buy a ticket

·         Penalising drivers for resting too long at motorway service stations – despite the risks of driving when tired

‘What’s needed is independent and effective regulation of the private car parking industry, which puts the consumer interest first.’

AA president Edmund King added: ‘We think some of the signage is really confusing in order to catch out elderly drivers as they are an easy target. 

‘The companies know they won’t appeal if threatened with bailiffs and legal letters. It is unacceptable these companies are targeting them.’

Claims that wardens are hounding the elderly come after the Mail revealed hundreds of thousands of drivers are being ‘fined’ by private parking firms, often with little reason and without legal authority.

Signs are often difficult to make out and payment machines can be complicated, involving keying the driver’s number plate into a computer system.

Whistleblower Tony Taylor, who worked for one of the firms until December, said bosses told wardens to focus on ticketing pensioners.

The company – UK Parking Control – runs car parks for NHS hospitals, Royal Mail and a number of high street shops and restaurants, including McDonalds and Marks & Spencer.

Mr Taylor said: ‘The wardens are told to target the elderly and disabled. The elderly are likely to pay.

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Further Reading:

The wardens on £3k bonuses urged to issue scores of parking tickets daily, target vulnerable people and take photographs at angles to make offences seem worse

Ten coastal towns get £8.5m for projects, BBC News

Ten coastal towns have been given £8.5m in government cash to help create nearly 1,400 jobs and repair storm-damaged areas.

Schemes set to benefit include the Jubilee Pool in Penzance, Old Portsmouth's historic arches, and the South West Coastal Path.

The cash will be used to create tourist attractions, regenerate historic sites and provide new flood defences.

The awards come from the Big Lottery's Coastal Community Fund.

Continue reading the main story

Funding award list

• ·        Jubilee Pool, Penzance, Cornwall - £1.95m
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• ·        Historic arches, Old Portsmouth, Hampshire - £1.755m
• ·        South West Coastal Path, Cornwall, Devon, Dorset and Somerset - £999,000
• ·        Historic Fruit Market, Kingston upon Hull - £800,000
• ·        Waldringfield Flood Defence, Suffolk - £633,000
• ·        Maltings Building, Wells-next-the-Sea, near Cromer, Norfolk - £610,000
• ·        Yorkshire Wildlife Trust, Spurn Point - £498,000
• ·        RSPB Nature Reserve, Bempton Cliffs, Humberside - £452,000
• ·        Youth Hostels in Brighton, East Sussex, and Robin Hoods Bay, North Yorkshire - £401,000
• ·        Park View 4 U, near Lytham St Annes, Lancashire - £395,000
• ·        Coastal Communities minister Penny Mordaunt said the money was set to make a "big difference" to towns affected by the winter storms.

British taxpayers help fund £20billion EU handout to struggling Portugal, Daily Express

Jose Manuel Barroso

FURY erupted today after the EU gifted cash-strapped Portugal a £20 billion handout to help boost its crumbling economy.

Most of the money will be spent on training and education in a bid to cut rampant unemployment and revive Portuguese economic fortunes by the end of the decade.

Critics warned it means British taxpayers' will be effectively forking out up to £2.7 billion over the next seven years to help prop up one of Europe's basket case nations.

Unemployment in Portugal is currently surging at 14.3 per cent, while one of its biggest banks is teetering on the brink following massive losses.

It was also suggested that the 'growth fund' was a parting gift from Portuguese European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso before he leaves later this year.

Ukip MEP and the party's Economy spokesman Patrick O'Flynn blasted the deal, saying that it was "tipping money down the drain".

He added: "There is only one way for Portugal's economy to recover and generate new jobs and investment and that will be to leave the Euro and restore its own national currency.

"This must amount to the most expensive sticking plaster in history and British voters will be outraged."

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