Threat of arrest in row over Newcastle parking tickets

Sep 7 2010 by Alastair Craig, The Journal

Judge Faulks went on to urge council legal representatives to let Mr Athey’s appeal go through unchallenged but the plea was dismissed.

Mr Athey has insisted all along that council parking enforcement officers told him his blue disabled badge was partly hidden by a windscreen wiper and therefore contravened regulations – and was also just a few days out of date. The grandfather, from Holywell, North Tyneside, who was issued the tickets on consecutive days in January 2005, said last night he was shocked by the letter from HMCS.

“I think it’s heavy handed and we feel like we are being hounded,” said Mr Athey, who was a constable with Northumbria Police for 20 years.

“This case has been a mess from start to finish and the courts have not behaved at all well. Even a judge said the case should never have gone as far as this and still it goes on.”

His wife Linda, 60, a dinner lady at Holywell First School, told how the ordeal has seriously affected the couple’s health.

“We have both had to go to the doctor because of this with stress and anxiety,” she said. “It’s been horrendous from start to finish. This shows that if you stand up for principles it doesn’t count for much with the powers that be.

“We’ve had texts from bailiffs twice a day saying they’ll come round and take our car and change our locks. Now we have the courts telling us David could be arrested.

“This whole thing has made us ill.”

Newcastle City Council said its involvement in the case ended when magistrates made the original order of payment.