A DEFIANT driver took on Southend Council and won over a “rip-off” parking ticket he claims many others have fallen victim to.

Lee Petch launched his David and Goliath battle after being stung with a £90 fine after parking in the council’s Beecroft car park, in Victoria Avenue, Southend.

Mr Petch insists he bought the correct car parking tariff in the upstairs car park but because of faulty signage, he parked in a non-public area.

Following dogged determination, he managed to overturn his fine of £90 and is now set to be paid more than £500 in court fees and charges by Southend Council.

And Mr Petch, from Canvey, revealed how 70 per cent of drivers in the car park challenge the fines they are given by wardens, as per a Freedom of Information Request.

He told the Echo how a traffic enforcement officer had put a fine on his windscreen, despite seeing him pay for a ticket.

The 55-year-old said the council fined him for parking in the wrong part of the car park, but said the “no entry” sign was flipped meaning he couldn’t see it.

He said: “I went in the entrance, which used to be the exit because the exit sign had been turned around.

“I thought there had been some kind of mistake.

“The signs all tell you to get a ticket and pay upstairs, which I did.

“There was an enforcement officer in there at the time.“

And now, following the Freedom of Information Request submitted by Lee, figures reveal that 376 appeals were made at the car park from August 2016 up until May 2020.

524 parking fines were issued in the same time period.

Mr Petch added: “They’ve got to stop ripping people off and issuing false tickets in there.

“They tried to double the fine when I told them I was going to take them to court.

“The council then tried to get the case reheard in court after it was resolved. This was accepted, but they then withdrew their case a few days before.”

A spokesman from Southend Council said: “Penalty Charge Notices are issued by civil enforcement officers when a parking contravention has taken place.

“The appeals process is in place to allow drivers to put forward mitigating factors to be considered.

“In this case the appeals officer accepted the mitigating factors presented, and the PCN was cancelled.

“Subsequently, a claim for costs was made against the council.

“Following an internal review of the matter a goodwill payment is being made to cover the claimant’s reasonable costs on this one occasion, and to prevent further costs being incurred by either party.”