A Mountbatten nurse providing end-of-life care was slapped with a parking ticket by a pair of traffic wardens patrolling the sleepy residential estate of Binstead – but the Council says the rules are the rules.
A pair of Civil Enforcement Officers ticketed the Mountbatten-liveried vehicle on the quiet Binstead estate on the afternoon of Wednesday 12th March.
Island Echo understands that the sight of a Mountbatten vehicle in the area is not an uncommon one, with carer givers usually able to park off-road on a private driveway.
On this one occasion, however, the care giver was unable to find a legitimate space and so had to leave the vehicle on double yellow lines.
The Isle of Wight Council has confirmed that the 2 enforcement officers – palled up because one of them was being trained – observed the Mountbatten vehicle for some 6 minutes before slapping a penalty notice on the windscreen.
Exemptions to parking tickets are only afforded to Police, Ambulances and the Fire Service, the Isle of Wight Council has said. But Mountbatten has confirmed that they are going to appeal the ticket.
The hospice charity has encouraged an open dialogue between themselves and the local authority in attempts to stop such incidents from happening in the future. Mountbatten is looking to explain the real challenges faced by its teams out in the community.
A donation of £35 was made to Mountbatten Isle of Wight by a local resident who witnessed the incident, to cover the cost of the ticket.
An Isle of Wight Council spokesperson has told Island Echo:
“The vehicle in question was observed by the Civil Enforcement Officers parked on double yellow lines. They allowed an observation period of 6 minutes before issuing a Penalty Charge Notice.
“Whilst aware that the vehicle was sporting Mountbatten livery, the Civil Enforcement Officers are trained not to take organisational livery into consideration when deciding whether or not to issue a Penalty Charge Notice.
“An exemption applies only to Police, Ambulance and Fire Service vehicles when on operational duties”.
A Mountbatten spokesperson has said:
“Mountbatten Isle of Wight staff deliver vital end-of-life care to people in their most vulnerable moments and regularly answer urgent calls, in the same way as paramedics. For the people Mountbatten is caring for, it is, quite literally, a matter of life and death.
“On rare occasions, patient care must be prioritised, although we always take road safety extremely seriously.
“All nearby spaces were taken, as was the available driveway. The road was quiet and the branded car was parked as safely as possible, partly off the road.
“While we understand the Civil Enforcement Officer was simply doing their job, we have appealed the ticket on the grounds this was a time-sensitive call-out.
“The matter remains open and we are writing to the local authority to explain the real challenges faced by our teams.”
Too many Numpty’s park on Double Yellow Lines
on the island.
I saw a few vans at the top end of Atherley Road Shanklin
today parked on Double Yellow Lines (all day)
Also along St Pauls crescent in Shanklin a vehicle
was parked on Double Yellow Lines.
Numpty’s don’t seem to understand that Double
Yellow Lines are placed for a reason (safety)
Surely Nurses doing such jobs should have a
ticket that they can display in such circumstances
so Civil Enforcement Officers know to leave them
alone.
So many vehicles park where they shouldn’t,
just like outside Wetherspoons in Ryde vehicles
park where they shouldn’t.
G4 van parks on Zig Zags top of Union Street, Ryde
and Turkish barbers in Sandown park their cars
on Zig Zags outside the Barbers
DO ENFORCEMENT OFFICERS NOT NOTICE THIS!,
MAYBE A TRIP TO SPECSAVERS WILL HELP THEM.
This vehicle was Mountbatten Hospice liveried – how much clearer a ticket do you want? The trffic wardens should have exercised a bit more common sense – shame on them.
The vehicle might not have been on shift,
Civil Enforcement Officers don’t have
crystal balls.
I’ll remember the Isle of Wight council excuses when I next see one of the vehicles we pay for parked on double yellow lines and there buddy’s island roads. I’ll take photos and share on social media and YouTube.
Rules for them don’t exist
Builders vehicles are parked daily in Shanklin
on Double Yellow Lines and nothing
gets done about it.
IW Council are useless.
This f*****g council make me sick, someone doing there job, a job which the parking twats knew nothing about. Sickening, just cancel the damn fine. The appeal will fail mainly because this council are a bunch of money grabbing idiots and don’t give a toss about someone dying and getting care.
Too many vehicles think they can park on
Double Yellow Lines and get away with it.
There is a van parked on Double Yellow Lines
on the main road from Brading towards Yarbridge
tonight. Too many people take the p*ss.
Clamp the B’stard and crush it.
What a disgusting show of greed, disrespect and principles. This nurse was trying to help a person of lesser left life, and this is all the thanks she gets. How would I get in touch with her, I would like to offer to pay her parking fine?
How would they have known, too many selfish B’stards
Park on Double Yellow Lines thesedays.
Nurses in such jobs should be given a pass to display.
The car had a big sticker saying Mountbatten care
That doesn’t mean they are on shift.
It was liveried – how much bigger clue do you need?
And was in a Mountbaten Hospice liveried vehicle
Let’s hope none of the council lot or there families don’t need end of life care,selfish lot
How would the council have known, if they didn’t
act it might have been a motorist taking the piss
parking on Double Yellow Lines
Now they know they can cancel the charge, also
in future the council should issue passes to such
Nurses.
THE VAN HAD MOUNTBATTEN CARE WRITTEN ON IT, WHAT DON’T YOU GET???
Are there no parking spaces in the grounds!!
What if everyone parked on Double Yellow Lines.
Double Yellow Lines are placed for safety reasons.
Eg So Numpty’s don’t park on them!
On this occasion the fine could be cancelled.
Taking the piss in a vehicle in hospice livery?
They should park in their grounds.
So many people are getting their knickers in a twist
in defence of the Council how would they have known.
Everyday on the island I see numerous vehicles
parked ILLEGALLY on Double Yellow Lines.
To prevent such incidents like this happening again
maybe the Council could issue such organisations with
Exemption passes they can display.
Imagine if it had happened on the mainland, the
vehicle would have been clamped and then towed away.
THE ISLAND IS A SOFT TOUCH COMPARED TO THE MAINLAND
re VEHICLES PARKING ILLEGALLY ON DOUBLE YELLOW LINES!
Re this circumstance the Council can easily cancel the
ticket on this occasion.
You are such an idiot. ONCE AGAIN THE VAN HAD MOUNTBATTEN CARE WRITTEN ALL OVER IT.
What if a person gets their vehicle
sign writed, does that mean they can park
where they want.
Everyday on the island Numpty’s are parked
ILLEGALLY
A vehicle could be used by a nurse who is off duty
and they could take the piss by abusing the system.
Signs don’t me anything.
The Enforcement Officers acted correctly at the
time.
THEY ARE NOT PSYCHIC
IW Council can just cancel the ticket.
Personally I wouldn’t slap a ticket on such
vehicles, but I must say on the island there
is a problem with selfish uneducated B’stards
parking on Double Yellow Lines.
IW Council need to get tough, the problem is
they pick on the wrong ones.
I saw a builders van parked along Atherley Road
shanklin today (builders are exempt from rules)
I would tow it away and crush it.
“IW Council can just cancel the ticket.”
yes, they could have, but (according to the article) they REFUSED to do so…
I understand your point that, inspite of the fact that it was a ‘Mountbatten-liveried vehicle’ it could have been someone who wasn’t actually involved in patient care at the time…
I think the point of the argument is that, even once they had been informed of the nature of the situation and the genuine, and necessary, reason for the need to park the vehicle in that place, the still REFUSED to cancel the ticket….
What is the matter with these people, I hope one day they need to park somewhere in a hurry and two brainless idiots put a ticket on their car.
How would they have known!!
Probably can’t even speak English with the way this island is being taken over at the moment, encouraged by our so called council.
No, your English is of a reasonable standard, although often your sentences make little grammatical sense. You might like to work on your logic and comprehension too.
How rude!
Obviously sunshine is a wanna be English teacher.
Does it really matter, as long as you understand
what a person is saying.
The island is full of wanna be English teachers.
Lol
Another racist reformer
Well done to the Civil Enforcement Officers for
doing what we pay them to do.
It might have been a worker not on shift pulling
a fast one.
You cannot tell me that there were no legitimate parking
spaces available.
PULL THE OTHER ONE, IT’S GOT BELLS ON!
Rules are Rules, imagine if this happened in
London would have had the vehicle towed away.
It’s about time IW Council invested in tow trucks
and a compound, they would make millions of pounds
a year with clamping fees etc.
It would also create employment for many persons.
Strange how the traffic wardens walk right past the taxis parked outside Solent Court without paying
They do the same with Builders Van’s parked
along Atherley road Shanklin.
Civil Enforcement Officers are Spineless Numpty’s.