Man fined for hospital parking as partner gives birth
A new father was issued with a parking fine as he rushed to see the birth of his daughter at Hinchingbrooke Hospital, Huntingdon.
A new father was issued with a parking fine as he rushed to see the birth of his daughter at Hinchingbrooke Hospital, Huntingdon.
Philip Storey, 39, said he received a call at 5.45am on March 7 to say his partner Sarah Reeve was about to give birth to their fourth child. Mr Storey made the 26-mile trip from his home in Main Street, Witchford, arriving at 6.25am, by which time Ms Reeve, 39, had gone into labour.
“The last thing on my mind was thinking about a parking ticket,” he told The Hunts Post. “In situations like this, the last thing on your mind is worrying about whether or not you’ve got the right change for a parking metre.”
Jessica was born at 6.23am, but when Mr Storey returned to his car three hours after parking, he found the parking ticket.
“I stayed with my partner after the birth as most people do,” Mr Storey added. “There was far too much to worry about besides putting a pay-and-display ticket on the windscreen.”
After writing two appeal letters to County Parking, the hospital’s contractor, Mr Storey, pictured with Sarah and daughter Jessica, relented and paid the �40.
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But he added: “I think it’s absolutely disgusting under the circumstances. I provided them with as much evidence as I possibly could, including a scanned image of Jessica’s birth tag. I don’t know what else to do.”
A hospital spokesman said: “Car parking enforcement and the appeals process on our site is managed by County Parking. We will review the circumstances of this case with County Parking.”
n Should hospitals be more lenient on parking enforcement? Send your views to editor@huntspost.co.uk or write to Hunts Post, 30 High Street, Huntingdon PE29 3TB.
