A nursing student was slapped with a parking ticket after stopping to help a collapsed pensioner – for just three minutes.
Kind Henry Redmond, 22, was forced to pull over onto double yellow lines when he saw the elderly woman face down after suffering a nasty fall.
But he says he was then unfairly punished for going to the casualty’s aid by a heartless traffic warden who carried on issuing the #35 fine instead of coming over to help.
He said: “As a student, I am bound to The Nursing and Midwifery Council’s code which says I have to be a credit to my profession and must help if I see the public in need.
“The lady was lying flat on her face and I honestly thought she had passed out or had suffered a cardiac arrest so my immediate response was to jump out and help her.
“By the time I got to her she had started to sit up on the kerb and I noticed she had a black eye.”
Henry was driving in his home city of Plymouth, Devon, and says he was forced to park on double yellow lines because the loading bay on the street was occupied.
The lady, believed to be in her 80s, then insisted that she was fine and wanted to go home to her husband.
Henry said: “I was less than 10 meters from the car with my back to it but in full view of the road assisting the lady.
“The warden would have clearly seen me helping her.
“Instead of offering his assistance or even checking I owned the vehicle he slapped on a ticket and continued on his way.”
Henry now has to make the choice between paying the fine, affording petrol or purchasing a week’s worth of shopping as he only receives #1.17 hourly with his bursary.
If he fails to pay the fine within 14 days, it will increase to #70.
He said: “I need petrol to get to visit patients at their homes and if I pay the fine I will not be able to do this- unless I don’t eat for a week.
“I am a public servant and theoretically so are council officers- we are one the same side.”
Plymouth City Council said they had rejected an informal appeal and urged Henry to gather more evidence. He has now issued an appeal to the elderly woman or any of her relatives to contact him to help with his appeal.
A council spokesman said: “The Penalty Charge Notice was issued by one of our officers who came across the car parked in a ‘no loading/ no waiting area’ .
“The officer observed the vehicle for two minutes and as there was no discretionary observation period for vehicles parked in a no waiting area, issued the PCN.
“We have spoken to the officer who was not aware of the incident or that the driver was helping a member of the public at the time.
“There was nothing to suggest the driver had left in an emergency; there was no hazard warning lights or any other clues. As the officer did not see this episode, he had no reason to not issue it.
“This gentleman made an informal challenge but this has been declined as it does not meet the strict criteria for the cancellation of the ticket.
“He is welcome to make formal representations through the appeals process but we would strongly suggest he provides as much as evidence as possible to support his appeal.”
