A retired offshore worker has been fined £70 at James Cook University Hospital despite paying for his parking, after being stuck in what he describes as ‘severe gridlocked traffic’ that prevented him from leaving the car park. ChronicleLive, citing Teesside Live, reports that George Grainger, 71, from Tollesby, was visiting the Marton Road, Middlesbrough site with his wife Denise for an appointment in May.
Mr Grainger paid £3.60 for up to two hours of parking and returned to his car at around 5pm. When he tried to leave, he says the couple found themselves unable to exit the site due to heavy congestion. ‘We were effectively stationary for more than an hour and had no way of leaving the hospital site,’ he told Teesside Live. ‘The congestion appeared to be caused by a combination of the volume of traffic and ongoing roadworks.’
How the fine was issued
The car park uses an Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) system operated by Parkingeye. According to Mr Grainger, that system logged his vehicle as still on site after his paid period had expired, triggering the charge.
Parkingeye said the fine was issued because Mr Grainger ‘exceeded the paid parking period, having purchased two hours of parking but remaining in the car park for 2 hours 30 minutes‘. A Parkingeye spokesperson said the company ‘partners with the South Tees Hospital NHS Trust to ensure its car parks operate effectively for patients, visitors and staff’.
Mr Grainger lodged two appeals, submitting photographs of the gridlocked traffic. Both were rejected. Parkingeye’s spokesperson said: ‘The motorist failed to provide any evidence on the mitigating circumstances that led to them breaching the terms and conditions of the car park. As a result, the appeal was rejected, a decision that was upheld by POPLA, the independent appeals service.’ Mr Grainger disputes this account, saying he sent pictures of the traffic jam along with proof that parking had been paid.
‘Despite demonstrating that parking had been paid for and that the additional time was caused by circumstances completely outside our control, the appeal was rejected,’ he told Teesside Live. ‘We appealed a second time and were again unsuccessful. Ultimately, we were forced to pay £70.’
The wider concern
Mr Grainger worries his experience is not isolated. ‘It was just one big traffic jam,’ he said. ‘Even though we were in the car park we weren’t in a car parking space, it was just bumper to bumper. I couldn’t go back to the pay machine otherwise people behind me wouldn’t be able to move. It was a catch 22.’
He added: ‘We’re pensioners, we aren’t going to the hospital because they want to. There’s a chance that this could happen again and we could be fined again.’
According to the South Tees Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust parking page, as of September 2021 the tariff for stays between 20 minutes and two hours was £3.60, with stays of two to four hours charged at £4.60. Parkingeye’s position is that the tariff Mr Grainger purchased ‘was insufficient and did not cover the entire duration of the stay’.
A University Hospitals Tees spokesperson said the trust is ‘committed to providing safe, accessible, and fair parking for all patients, visitors, and staff’ and acknowledged that receiving a penalty charge during a hospital visit ‘can cause distress’. The trust encouraged anyone who feels they have been unfairly fined to get in touch so their case can be reviewed.