A woman has been slapped with 18 separate fines for driving in a restricted zone, despite being exempt from any charges.
Marlene Nwaokolo, from Lordswood, Kent, has been issued 18 fines for being in a school street scheme, despite having a disability exemption.
Nwaokolo's daughter attends a school in Walderslade where the street scheme is in operation, as it aims to reduce the levels of traffic during peak hours, namely at drop-off and pick-up times.
Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) cameras are used to fine motorists and deter other drivers from travelling down the street, and improve road safety.
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The 42-year-old received 18 separate fines for driving into a school street during peak hours, despite being exempt
GETTY/PA
The 42-year-old told Kent Online that she was using a courtesy car following a crash and contacted Medway Council to apply for the exemption for a week.
The mother reported that she had waited until the council confirmed the request before taking her daughter to school, but soon received fines from a car rental company, saying that she had broken school street rules.
In total, Nwaokolo was fined £1,260, with 18 separate fines worth £70 being issued by Medway Council. A £35 admin fee was also applied to each fee by the car rental company, although this has been rescinded.
Despite Medway Council telling the mother that the fines would be cancelled, she received follow-up letters instructing her to pay.
Earlier this month, Marlene was sent a court order for recovery of unpaid penalty charges, which cost £115. She said she expects to receive more in the near future.
If additional court orders were to come in for the 18 fines, the driver could face a total charge of £2,070.
Nwaokolo said: "It's been escalated to the point that it's actually going to court because I haven't paid those fines, even though I have proof that I am not liable to pay for them.
"It's made me extremely stressed. I have actually got to the point that I'm scared to open the mail because every time I do, there's a new citation or a penalty charge or a court notice."
The motorist has called on Medway Council to "look into their procedures" as a result of the errors to prevent other drivers from being hit with fines unfairly.
Medway Council states that there are seven school street schemes in Gillingham, Chatham, Rainham, Rochester and Walderslade.
It added that it had secured £486,000 of Government funding from its Active Travel Fund to support the rollout and upkeep of the school streets programmes.
A Medway Council spokesperson said: "We would like to apologise for the fines issued in this case, which were due to a delay in processing a change of vehicle exemption.
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School street schemes can fine drivers for using roads near schools at peak times
GETTY"We are now working to ensure that all remaining correspondence related to these PCNs is withdrawn, and that no further action is taken.
"We apologise for any distress caused and can reassure the resident that this matter is now resolved. We are also reviewing internal processes to prevent similar occurrences in the future when residents report a change of vehicle for exemptions."
