Driver, 42, gets his £60 fine ‘revoked’ in court after proving the council’s parking signs were 6cm too short

• Chris Burton, 42, found many ‘P’ signs in Bury, Manchester, were the wrong size
• He investigated the issue with a tape measure after being fined
• He says that other could do the same to get out of fines 

Many of us have tried to appeal a parking fine by saying a sign was obscured, or even didn’t exist.

But one driver has gone a step further by measuring parking signs, and won a case against a council by showing that some of its signs are 6cm too short.

Chris Burton, 42, found that a ‘number’ of the ‘P’ signs in Bury, Greater Manchester, didn’t reach the 20cm requirement.

He investigated with a tape measure after receiving a £60 fine while dropping his father off at a hospital appointment.

A county court ruled that an order to recover the unpaid penalty charge from Mr Burton should be ‘revoked’ after he submitted pages of evidence. He now thinks his work could help others to query tickets.

Chris Burton, 42, (pictured) found that a ‘number’ of the ‘P’ signs in Bury, Greater Manchester, didn’t reach the 20cm requirement

A county court ruled that an order to recover the unpaid penalty charge from Mr Burton should be ‘revoked’ after he submitted pages of evidence

Mr Burton, a TV cameraman from Manchester, said: ‘I want to encourage others to go back to Bury council with old tickets to say they weren’t legal’

‘UK law says signs have to be 20cm in size, but when I checked the signs that were there, they were only 14cm,’ he said

READ MORE: How extortionate council charges are killing High Streets as local authorities fleece drivers with £6-an-hour tickets and rake in £1bn a year

Mr Burton, a TV cameraman from Manchester, said: ‘I want to encourage others to go back to Bury council with old tickets to say they weren’t legal.

‘UK law says signs have to be 20cm in size, but when I checked the signs that were there, they were only 14cm.’

Mr Burton says there were no available parking spaces at the hospital so he found a space on a nearby road. When he returned to the car, he discovered a parking ticket.

He appealed online and says this was rejected in minutes, so he appealed again but heard nothing back. He then received a letter saying the council was taking him to county court.

He had initially complained that the residents-only parking signs in the area had been obscured. He then decided to measure the signs and sent the court his evidence.

A council spokesman said: ‘We believe this issue relates to a tiny number of signs located at residents-only parking zones.

‘The overwhelming number of signs across Bury are fully in accordance with national regulations, and any which are not will be rectified.’

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