Parking: Cardiff driver's £100 fine after tyres touch yellow box

Amal Bafaqih's unsuccessful appeals means her debt has been increased to £170

A disabled driver fined £100 for parking marginally over markings has vowed to fight the matter in court and claimed she is ready to go to prison.

Amal Bafaqih said she felt "angry, ill, sick, disappointed" after seeing a ticket stuck to her car in Cardiff Bay Retail Park on 5 April.

Letters sent to the 85-year-old blue badge holder included a picture showing how she had parked in the disabled bay.

Enforcement firm UK Parking Control has been asked to comment.

The picture of Ms Bafaqih's vehicle appears to show the front and back wheel of her vehicle slightly outside of the bay and on an adjacent yellow box.

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The retired psychiatric nurse said the car was not blocking traffic or other parking bays and has refused to pay the fine.

After unsuccessful appeals, her debt has been increased to £170, but she has pledged to see the business in court.

Ms Bafaqih, from Canton, Cardiff, said she had been shopping for about 20 minutes and spotted the fine on her return.

She said she had not realised she was not parked within the bay and tried, without success, to challenge the enforcement officer who ticketed her.

The 85-year-old said she was prepared to fight the matter in court

Two days later she received a letter from UK Parking Control informing her she had been fined £100.

After refusing to pay and unsuccessfully appealing, Ms Bafaqih received several letters from debt recovery agencies and UK Parking Control - which was disciplined in 2015 for tampering with photos.

Ms Bafaqih said: "It's really ridiculous. For one inch of the road - why?

"I haven't blocked the second car beside me. The yellow box between me and the other car is clear - there's nothing."

Ms Bafaqih, who struggles to walk following a spine operation in June and is waiting for a new knee, dubbed the situation "nonsense".

She also has diabetes, Crohn's disease and arthritis and said her medical records were sent to the firm when she appealed, adding: "They don't care a hoot."

Ms Bafaqih pledged to keep fighting: "I'll go to prison and I'm not paying."

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