Driver gets 19 Birmingham fines from 160 miles away

Ruth Costello said she has never driven to Birmingham in her Volkswagen Caravelle

A driver has received 19 fines for driving through Birmingham's Clean Air Zone, despite never driving her car there.

Ruth Costello, from West Sussex, said she had been getting the £120 penalty charge notices (PCNs) since the scheme launched in June.

She believes they were intended for a car with a similar plate.

Birmingham City Council said anyone who received a PCN in error should contact them.

Ms Costello told the Local Democracy Reporting Service she has contacted the authority each time a fine has arrived, with the first seven cancelled, but PCNs have arrived for her Volkswagen Caravelle as recently as Friday.

"It's the head-banging frustration," she said.

"It got to the point where I was going to get new plates for my car - and still might do that.

"I have never driven in Birmingham in a vehicle I own."

The Clean Air Zone was officially launched on 1 June

The car pictured on the PCNs, she said, was not the same model as hers, and she believed it could have a similar plate which was being distorted by the placement of a screw.

She has also contacted West Midlands Police and the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency in case her plate was cloned.

Birmingham City Council said it could not comment on the case, but it would encourage anyone who has received a PCN which they believed to be an error to make a representation online or by post.

Charges for the zone, which covers roads inside Birmingham's A4540 Middleway, are £8 for cars, vans and taxis, or £50 for HGVs and coaches, rising to £120 if unpaid within six days.