Parents’ fury as ‘savage’ parking wardens slap cars with £70 fines for stopping ‘for seconds’ on school run drop-off
PARENTS have slammed jobsworth traffic wardens for slapping parking tickets on their cars even when their engines are running.
Mums and dads at Newhall Park primary in Bradford told how parking attendants are “savage” outside the school, which has no drop off or parking area.
Parents claim the wardens are even dishing out parking tickets to those who pull over to let pedestrians cross the road.
The Sun spoke to four parents who had been given tickets in recent weeks, with many more telling how they witnessed fellow mums and dads being ticketed for parking or stopping for no more than a few seconds.
Kelly Parnell, who has twins in Year 6, told how she got a ticket for pulling into the side of the road to let some cars pass, while her engine was still running.
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She told The Sun: “I literally pulled in to let some other cars past. I still had my belt on, my engine was running and they slapped a ticket on my car.
“I got out of the car and threw the ticket at him.
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‘I was in floods of tears’
“I told him I had pulled over to let cars past … I ended up having to pay £70 which I couldn’t afford to do so close to Christmas.
“I was in floods of tears to the school. I was having a bad year due to a family bereavement, money was really tight and I was struggling, yet the school said it was nothing to do with them.
“The school has a big car park yet unless it’s special circumstances you can’t go in.”
Joanne Wright, who has a 10-year-old at the school, told The Sun: “I got fined two weeks ago just for literally pulling up on the zig zag lines, sitting in my car and watching my son cross over the road to school.
“The guy said to me, ‘You can’t drop off there’. I said, ‘It’s not my fault I need to make sure my child gets to school safe.’
Nowhere else to park
“There’s no where else to park and I can’t drop him half a mile down the road.
“You used to be able to go into the school car park and drop children there but now that is just for disabled children, which is fair enough but it’s up to the school to provide a drop off point for the rest of us.
“If I dropped my son off down there and let him come up anything could happen. He’s 10 and he’s got no road sense whatsoever. At least if I drop him here I can look through the window and make sure he gets across okay.”
Aisha Meskiri, who has a son in Year 5, revealed she got ticketed for stopping for a few seconds to let someone cross the road.
‘I stopped to let people cross’
“I drove onto the street and started to follow the road around when my child came out of the gate,” she said.
“He jumped in the car as I was stopped, allowing people to cross. I received the parking fine through the post… I’ve contested this and I’m waiting for them to reply regarding my complaint.
“I don’t live local to the school so driving is my only option.”
Other parents said they had to get to the school one hour before pick up to get one of the few street parking spaces available.
Courtney Nelson, who has a son in Year 6, said: “Parents get tickets here all the time because there is nowhere to park.
‘It’s mayhem’
“I get here an hour early at 2pm for pick up to make sure we’re not on any yellow lines just so we can get out kids.
“We have to be here by 2pm because by 10 past two – it’s absolute mayhem.
“I’ve seen people who have just pulled up for a few seconds and they’ve got a ticket.
“My son has a disability but because we don’t have a blue badge they won’t let me drop off in the school car park.
“The traffic wardens are savage around here – they really are.”
However, one dad who got ticketed while still in his car while his wife nipped out to get their young son, said he accepted his fine and agreed something needed to be done to combat air pollution around schools.
‘Price you have to pay’
Michael Omotosho said: “I got a ticket and I wasn’t happy about it but if you’re trying to reduce air pollution in a school environment then that’s the price you have to pay.
“When I got a ticket, I was literally still in the car – my wife had just got out. I was upset but I get it. There’s a sign saying no stopping so I broke the rules.
“I get why people are angry but I think we need to be looking for solutions.”
Scheme failure
The school is supposed to be part of an initiative called School Streets in which the streets around schools are closed during pick up and drop off.
But The Sun saw little signage and cars were driving up and down the street at both restricted times, seemingly unaware of the closure.
Parents told The Sun that the scheme had been tried out for a few weeks last year but made things worse and caused traffic issues on adjoining roads.
Local councillor Matt Edwards said the scheme had “completely failed” at Newhall Park Primary.
Bradford Council said only police had the power to enforce restrictions and that “any presence by school or council staff is to encourage compliance”.
A spokesperson for Bradford Council said: “Creating streets around schools that are clean and safe for pupils is something parents, teachers and the council all want.
“This is why we introduced the pilot School Streets Scheme.
“Although the scheme has generally been successful in reducing the number of cars around schools we know that there are aspects that we will need to develop.
“This is why we are working with schools to see what we can learn from the pilot and how the scheme can operate to best effect using best practice guidance and shared experiences from other local authorities.”
The Headteacher at Newhall Park Primary School said: “The safety and the long-term health of our pupils is paramount. We’re working with colleagues at the council to look at how we manage the streets around the school in a way that is best for our pupils.”