A Kingston GP is urging motorists to stand up against unfair parking fines.

Dr Richard Lanigan was one of 186 people who used unclearly marked residents-only bays on Elm Road, Kingston, last year.

The fine was quashed on appeal this month and the Parking and Traffic Appeals Service also criticised Kingston Council for the lack of clear markings between pay and display and residents-only bays on Elm Road near the Park Clinic where Dr Richard Lanigan works.

"I was furious," Dr Lanigan said. "People just don't stand up to these people because they think it is only £30 so why bother? I have risked a few hundred because I went high up, which I would have had to pay if I lost.

"I believe you should stand up to these people. I hope the result is that people who have had fines unfairly will go back and say I want my money back'."

Dr Lanigan parked wrongly by mistake just before Christmas last year after he moved his car from his usual surgery space.

He bought a ticket from the machine next to his bay which also had a sign advertising pay and display nearby but he got a £30 ticket for being in a residents-only bay.

After he appealed unsuccessfully to the council, it replaced the sign in May with an arrowed sign to show drivers where to park.

But by the time his appeal was examined independently in August the original sign was mysteriously back in place.

Kingston Council said this was because workmen had mistakenly swapped the signs back but Dr Lanigan remained sceptical.

He said some of his patients were caught before he was and he had to use the Freedom of Information Act to find out that 186 people had been fined on Elm Road between March 2005 and June 2006.

It follows the case of Selina Quirke, who was fined for parking in a residents' bay in Birkenhead Avenue, Kingston, in December.

Again the fine was quashed on appeal last month and the council was criticised for signs obscured by foliage and graffiti and malfunctioning ticket machines.

A spokesman for Kingston Council apologised for the sign mix-up by workmen and added it would be reinstated as soon as possible.

He added the council may have to cut the number of parking spaces available to allow more space between different types of parking bay.

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