Second broken-down bus given parking ticket in town

A second broken‑down bus has been issued a parking fine in a Kent town in a single week, a council has confirmed.

Ashford Borough Council backed the decision of its traffic warden to issue a parking ticket to an Arriva service parked at a bus stop in Tenterden last month.

It has now emerged that another bus, operated by Hams Travel, was ticketed in the town a week earlier.

The council said its warden acted "correctly" in both cases because the vehicles had been left unattended in Tenterden High Street.

Hams Travel has been approached for comment.

The first of the fines was issued to a double decker bus that broke down on 6 February.

The operator appealed and the council cancelled the penalty after receiving evidence confirming the breakdown.

A ticket was also issued to an Arriva bus on 18 February, which the company said could not be moved until engineers arrived.

Arriva said it had recovered the vehicle as soon as possible and planned to contact the council to explain the circumstances.

The council said the appeals process existed to deal with situations where appropriate evidence was provided, including broken down vehicles.

Tenterden residents say it is an issue that has been going on "for years" in the town, listing several unusual parking tickets.

A blood donation van, the council's own maintenance buggy and a police car were among the targets, one resident said.

"Mostly, they are correctly issued, but a little common sense is lacking," they added.

The council said that both penalties were issued in line with the Parking and Traffic Regulations Outside London.

If a vehicle is left unattended at a bus stop, it is standard practice for a Penalty Charge Notice to be issued, according to the council.

It added that enforcement officers followed the correct procedure and that any cases involving breakdowns were reviewed individually.

Buses are permitted to stop briefly for passengers but must not be left unattended, even when a mechanical fault occurs, it said.

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