'I got parking fine while visiting dying daughter'

A father who was at his dying daughter's bedside has been fined for exceeding on-street parking time limits near her hospital.

Dr Brian Farrington, from St Helens in Merseyside, received a penalty charge notice after visiting his daughter Joanne at The Christie in Manchester on 9 May 2024.

In his initially unsuccessful appeal, the now 89-year-old told Manchester City Council he had been late returning to his car because he had been discussing his daughter's funeral wishes and helping to arrange her will, as well as supporting his three grandchildren.

Following an approach for comment by the BBC, however, the council has now said it would refund the fine.

Farrington said he had parked on double yellow lines while visiting his daughter since the hospital's car parks had been full.

He said he accepted he had exceeded the three-hour limit for blue badge holders but explained that he and his wife - who is the same age as him and is also registered blind - had just been told that their daughter had only days to live.

"On that very day we had to stay to get a solicitor in to draw up the will there and then, so that delayed us and that was the main reason that we were late," he explained.

The condition of Joanne, 55, quickly deteriorated and she died soon afterwards.

Her dad, from Eccleston, said that when he contacted the council to ask them to cancel the fine, he was told that while they sympathised with his situation there were no grounds.

Farrington said hospital parking was a national issue which needed to be addressed by the government.

He said he had no criticism of The Christie "but there definitely isn't enough car parking" at its site.

A Manchester City Council spokesperson said: "The council is aware of this case and, following a review, this gentleman will be contacted and issued a refund for the ticket that was issued."

Farrington said he felt the authority had showed a "deeply uncaring" attitude.

He said the council told him they had discretion when dealing with car parking fines but when he asked if his circumstances warranted discretion he was told "there were too many grounds to explain them all".

He said the grief over the death of his daughter, who he described as an "outgoing and refreshing person" had resulted in him being diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder.

Farrington said he was concerned that other people visiting loved ones at The Christie could also be fined at a time when they were going through equally traumatic circumstances.

"I spend hours almost every day thinking how many families have been impacted in this way by the council," he added.

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