The mum of a teenager who lost part of his leg following a crash, have been hit with a second parking ticket while taking him for physio at Carlisle's Cumberland Infirmary .

Michael Johnstone , 16, was struck by a car while walking with a group of friends along the city's Dalston Road at the end of January. His injuries were so serious doctors had to amputate.

He now has to visit the disablement services centre at the hospital at least twice a week as part of his rehabilitation.

His parents Ali and Mike, of Manor Road, Upperby, have been driving him to the appointments. Although they had applied for a blue badge disabled parking permit, it had not arrived until this weekend.

They first received a ticket from private firm UK Parking Control ( UKPC ), who police the infirmary site, two weeks ago.

That time they parked in a disabled space and tried to explain the situation, but were told they would still get a ticket. They moved the car, but accidentally parked in a permit holder's space.

They appealed and, after the News & Star intervened, North Cumbria University Hospitals NHS Trust, which runs the infirmary, said it would cancel the ticket.

It also said it would work with its Private Finance Initiative (PFI) partner Interserve, which is responsible for the car park, and UKPC to avoid similar situations in future.

But now the Johnstone family have received a second ticket for parking in a disabled bay - despite displaying a clear note and paying for a parking ticket. Mrs Johnstone said she was incredibly angry.

"We were there again last week and the only space available outside the disablement centre was a disabled bay," she said.

"We had no choice but to park there. He can't walk and it's too far to push him from the main car parks. It's right at the back of the hospital.

"I put a big note on the car and even paid for a ticket. When we came out we had another penalty charge."


Michael Johnstone Mrs Johnstone said she tried to reason with the parking attendant, who said she had broken the rules.

"He said anyone could have written a note like that, but they know who we are. It was just after the story was in the paper too.

"He could have come in and checked if he wasn't sure. It was right outside. We'd applied for the blue badge, it just hadn't arrived," she said.

Again, after being contacted by the News & Star, the hospital trust agreed to rescind the fine.

A spokeswoman for North Cumbria University Hospitals NHS Trust said: “The trust would like to apologise for any distress caused to the Johnstone family and we would like to confirm that the parking charge they have received will be rescinded.

" UKPC have to follow an agreed protocol and therefore it is important to highlight that hand-written notes cannot be recognised, however if anybody feels they have received a parking charge unfairly, this will be reviewed as per the appeals process in place.

"The trust is continuing to work with our PFI partner to look at ways of making further improvements to our car parking systems and processes.”