A couple has been left furious after receiving a parking fine when they had paid to park.

The couple from Whitehaven was shocked when the fine landed, as they were sure they had paid when they parked in Vulcans Lane carpark in Workington.

Luckily, they kept the ticket and immediately went to check they still had it.

Surprised by the fine Andrea Coid, 50, said: “I was at work when the fine arrived, my partner thought it was his. We always keep our parking tickets just in case we need them.

“When we looked at the ticket, we still had time left and had the proof we needed.”

Miss Coid had parked in the carpark, which is run by HX Car Park Management, she said: “We double-checked the registration of the car as I had heard reports in the past that they had sent fines out to people who had paid. I put more time on than I needed.

“We have appealed the fine, but we won’t be using it again.

“I’m raging, what about the people who don’t keep their tickets?

“It’s a lot of money for people to pull out and with everything that is going on at the moment with Covid-19, people are losing their jobs and can’t afford this amount of money.

“I just don’t know how they can justify it. If we need to, we will be taking this to court.”

Last year hundreds of people from all over West Cumbria contacted the paper and told a similar story: they parked, inserted the number plate in the parking machine and paid, but later received a fine saying the registration number was incorrect.

HX Car Park Management was contacted for a comment but were unable to respond by the time the paper went to print.