Cars towed as record beach parking fines issued

A red car is being lifted onto a flatbed truck. The is a man in an orange florescent jacket standing next to the white truck. It is a sunny day with a blue sky and the truck is parked on a residential street where you can see a four-storey building. The road has double yellow lines. Image source, BCP Council
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Multiple vehicles had to be towed over the weekend in Bournemouth

  • Published

A record-breaking number of vehicles were towed away and fined as people travelled to a south coast resort during the latest heatwave.

Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole (BCP) Council has released figures for the number of penalty charge notices (PCN) handed out over the weekend.

The authority said 1,702 were given out on 12 and 13 July, the highest number of parking tickets on a weekend this year.

People from across the country flocked to the coast as temperatures in the UK soared above 30C (86F).

The authority posted on its social media throughout the weekend highlighting how many vehicles officers were finding parked illegally in the seaside towns.

Councillor Rich Herrett said Sandbanks surface car park was full by 09:00 BST on Saturday - with the area busy because of the Sandpolo and SandFest events.

A black ford car with a parking ticket parked on double yellow lines. The vehicle is parked on the corner of a junction near a crossroads. There is a bus in the background. The road is lined with hedges and trees.Image source, BCP Council
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People from across the country flocked to the coast

Figures from the authority show 879 PCNs were handed out on Saturday, while 823 were handed out on Sunday.

Previously, the highest number of PCNs given out during a weekend was 1,364 on 21 and 22 June.

The weekend of 28 and 29 June also saw high numbers of PCNs issued, with 1,057 in total.

It comes after the authority announced a consultation for new on-street parking charges in the Boscombe and Southbourne areas, as well as at West Cliff and Branksome Chine.

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