A CANCER patient was slapped with a £35 parking fine after a hospital visit...despite paying the correct amount for her stay.

Jackie Halsall, 74, who underwent emergency surgery to treat her bowel cancer just weeks before, paid £3 for two hours of parking at Colchester Hospital last month.

Arriving at 11am for her 11.25am aftercare appointment, ANPR cameras recorded her leaving the car park at 12.44pm.

But Car Parking Partnership sent her a £35 fine, with a warning it could rise to £70 if she failed to pay within 28 days.

Jackie’s daughter, Sarah, sent the firm the receipt to prove her mother had not overstayed, but the appeal was rejected.

After giving up and paying the fine, Jackie, from Ardleigh, says she feels “upset” and scared to return for fear of attracting further penalties.

“I was still under the two-hour limit,” she said.

“I was so upset when they said they hadn’t accepted it because of a lack of evidence.

“It could have risen to £70, so I paid the £35.

“You hear terrible things on TV about fines building up and bailiffs coming round, so I paid it over the phone.”

She added: “It is not right, they are just preying on people who are feeling vulnerable.

“They say there is not enough evidence to overturn the fine, their system has got to be wrong

“I want to know what I have done wrong in this situation.

“But there is no-one for me to get in touch with, no number to call at the hospital to check, nothing.”

Sarah added: “There was no telephone number on the parking ticket for her to make contact, so I made the appeal for her as she finds it very hard and dislikes using computers.

“This is an elderly, sick lady.

“I now have the added stress of my ill mother now being scared to attend the hospital due to the fear of another parking fine.

“The bus service is too far away for her to walk and I live too far away to take her myself.

“I can see this has been an ongoing issue here at the hospital and something which still needs addressing.

“People really don’t like attending hospitals at the best of times, but I feel this parking company is targeting vulnerable, sick people who are already stressed with health issues.”

The Gazette contacted the hospital trust for a comment but it was not able to respond by the time of going to press.

Fiona Sparrow, head of facilities at ESNEFT, said after investigating, she found Ms Halsall had received a fine after parking at the nearby Primary Care Centre rather than the main car park.

She used the payment machines at the main car park when leaving.

Ms Sparrow said: "I can understand why [she] decided to do this as well as being able to understand why [she] appealed, the appeal was declined due to evidence presented by way of a payment receipt being incorrect, as it was not for the main hospital car park. 

"We will raise this with CPP and ask them to consider this type of incident in the event there is another similar incident. 

"I will also ask CPP to look at whether or not they can link the payment machines to both car parks, although that may present further issues relating to the amount of time it takes to return to a vehicle."

She said Ms Halsall would be refunded the full £35.