Man given hundreds of incorrect parking tickets

Richard Johnson owned a jewellery store in Piccadilly Arcade for more than 40 years

A man who believes he has received more than 300 parking tickets has accused Birmingham City Council of "horrific" treatment of people during the appeal process.

Richard Johnson had an agreement with parking authorities allowing him to load and unload outside of his city centre jewellery shop, which he owned for more than 40 years.

But the 77-year-old claims he was regularly fined by unaware wardens over the years, leaving him to fight to get them overturned.

Mr Johnson insisted he never paid a penny in fines, but said the appeal procedure caused him "incalculable stress", for which the council has apologised.

"It really has had a very serious effect on me," he said.

The jeweller said he believed he was most ticketed man in Birmingham, adding: "I don't think anybody else could possibly have been subjected to as many as I have.

"It's so ridiculous, it's so expensive. Think of all the people [from the council] who are involved."

Richard Johnson said dealing with the council's parking authorities caused him incalculable stress

Mr Johnson still runs Piccadilly Jewellers, but the business no longer has a presence in the city's Piccadilly Arcade.

He was granted a permit to park outside the venue and at locations in the city's nearby jewellery quarter after being attacked carrying valuable items in the 1980s.

While he does not know the exact number of parking tickets he has received since then, he believes the figure is more than 300.

Mr Johnson showed the BBC folders of paperwork dating back years, claiming the council had rejected many of his appeals without even looking at them.

"I want them to adopt a much more inclusive attitude towards people," he said.

"The stress and the upset and the pressure that they put under all of us that are the victims of this is just unacceptable."

Birmingham City Council said appeals were carefully reviewed

Mr Johnson urged the authority to consider the finer detail of people's cases, and look for "shades of grey".

He claimed the lack of flexibility was putting people off coming to the city altogether, with customers opting for places where parking was easier.

"Birmingham used to be full of beautiful retail shops and they're all gone," he said.

Majid Mahmood, Birmingham City Council cabinet member for the environment and transport, said appeals were carefully reviewed and the authority recognised the importance of essential loading and unloading activities.

"We understand that Mr Johnson finds the appeals process frustrating and stressful and we are sympathetic to Mr Johnson's situation," he said.