A MOTORIST was left fuming after being slapped with a parking fine – because her ticket had fallen off the dashboard.

Susan Hollier said Wycombe District Council were being “pedantic” by handing out the £25 fine over the 60p ticket.

And she slammed WDC’s claim to be following national guidance as other councils consider waiving the fee if a valid ticket is produced.

Ms Hollier was handed the ticket at 3.29pm on March 14, 14 minutes after buying the hour-long ticket for WDC-owned Marlow Central car park.

An officer said there were not “sufficient grounds” to cancel the ticket and it was her responsibility to “abide by the regulations at all times”.

But Ms Hollier, a project manager, said: “They are being pedantic. I think their aim is to increase revenues from fines whether they make sense or not.

“They should apply common sense and distinguish between someone who has not bought a ticket and where a genuine mistake is made.”

She said: “When I saw the parking ticket I thought “OK, I will call the council, this is a mistake, I will show them”.

“I didn’t think it would be a problem. It must have fallen down when I slammed the door.”

Ms Hollier, 42, from Bledlow Ridge, said the ticket was visible on the floor. She was offered a £25 fine if it was paid within 14 days.

This is raised to £50 after 14 days. Ms Hollier is appealing.

She said: “I am very law abiding – that is why I am so annoyed about it.”

Council spokesman Catherine Spalton said: “Following guidance from the Department for Transport and in accordance with our parking places order, failure to clearly display a valid ticket on a vehicle for the duration that it is parked is a parking contravention and will result in a penalty charge notice.”

Signs in council car parks made this clear, she said.

When asked by Bucks Free Press the DfT pointed to guidance which says councils "have a duty to act fairly and proportionately and are encouraged to exercise discretion sensibly and reasonably and with due regard to the public interest."

Ms Hollier pointed to other councils which are prepared to waive the fines.

City of Lincoln Council says tickets “may be cancelled” if the ticket had “fallen from view or was obscured”.

Huntingdonshire District Council said information to support appeals could include tickets falling.

And Lancashire councillor Eric Bell told Chorley Council the authority is “usually able to cancel the ticket on appeal” if tickets have fallen “out of sight or [have been] blown off the dashboard”.