Woman issued parking ticket even though van was trapped in flood water

'It was an unprecedented situation and we didn't have anywhere else to put it.'

A woman has hit out at a traffic warden for issuing a parking ticket on her furniture store’s van despite the parking spot being two feet under water.

Freya Reynolds, who works at family business Reynolds Furniture in Bognor Regis, West Sussex, was unable to park the van in the warehouse due to flooding on November 4.

The business also suffered costly damage when it was submerged during the past month’s storms.

Freya, 31, told MailOnline: ‘It was an unprecedented situation and we didn’t have anywhere else to put it.

‘The warehouse had completely flooded so we couldn’t even get the vans into our yard.

‘We didn’t want to leave our vans on the road overnight but we felt we had no choice so we had to leave it outside the warehouse.

‘The whole road was flooded and the gym over the road was as well, so nobody was going to be using the road. That’s why we didn’t see it as an issue.

‘It never crossed my mind that someone would give us a parking ticket.

‘I got a text from the warehouse manager on Sunday. I was shocked and wondered who could have done that.

‘Surely they would have seen that the road was flooded and we couldn’t put our van anywhere else.

‘I wonder whether [the parking warden] wanted to have a look at the flooding themselves given everything was closed off and shut around there.’

Freya believes it will take six months to a year before they’re working normally again as it needs clearing and renovating.

‘It’s the last thing you want after a stressful week,’ she added.

‘I told them in the appeal that I think it’s unfair and I believed we’d be told not to do it again and that they understand why we did it.

‘Even their own council building up the road was flooded so you’d think they’d have some empathy for the situation.’

Arun District Council has now agreed to cancel the fine after being contacted by journalists.

It said in a statement: ‘Arun District Council appreciate the significant challenges posed by recent flooding in Bognor Regis and the difficulty this caused in locating suitable parking during this time.

‘The Penalty Charge Notice was issued correctly however, having considered the circumstances of the case, as a gesture of goodwill, Arun District Council will write off the balance owed.

‘Should vehicles be parked on double yellow lines or in breach of parking restrictions moving forward, a Penalty Charge Notice may be issued.

‘This course of action has been taken given the extreme circumstances and unprecedented weather conditions in this area at the time.’

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