A woman fighting a £165 parking fine says her ticket flipped upside down as she left her car.

Courtney Marvin-Howard was slapped with a £55 fine after a parking warden could not see that she had paid the £4 charge in Bradgate Park, Leicesteshire, in July.

The parking enforcement company used by the Bradgate Park Trust says she failed to display her ticket as required by the rules and rejected her appeal – despite her being able to produce it.

Now the 22-year-old, from Leicester Forest East, has been told by a debt recovery firm that she must pay £165 because she did not settle the debt within 28 days.

Courtney, who has just finished studying primary education at the University of Northampton, told LeicestershireLive: “I’ve got the ticket here in my hand as I’m talking to you.

“I paid it and they know it because there’s a code that matches up.

“The wind must have flipped it over on my dashboard when I shut the car door.

“I didn’t notice because I was keeping an eye on two small children and a dog.

“If I’d seen it obviously I’d have put it the right way up.

“I appealed and they rejected it and now I’ve been told I have to pay £165.

“I don’t know what to do. I’m a student and I don’t have any money.

“I just went for a walk to get some fresh air and get out of the house in lockdown and now I’ve got a massive bill despite having paid for the parking.

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“It just doesn’t seem right.

“I sent the company all the proof and the picture of the ticket upside down on my dashboard.

“I thought they’d be reasonable about it and accept that I’d paid – but they didn’t.

“I’m really mad about it. It’s not like I tried to avoid paying for parking.”

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Spring Parking, the company that is responsible for Bradgate Park’s parking enforcement, said: "There is signage in place warning that failure to display a valid payment at any time will result in the vehicle being issued with a parking charge notice, (PCN).

"An incorrect number or upside down ticket (so it cannot be read) would result in a parking charge notice.

"Bradgate Park has introduced parking receipts with adhesive to reduce the chance of tickets being displayed incorrectly.

"When Spring Parking rejected the appeal, the discounted amount of £55 was offered.

"As the PCN still remains unpaid, it has now gone to debt recovery."

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