Second Swansea woman received driving fine from city she has not visited

ANOTHER Swansea resident says she has been hit with a driving fine — despite not having visited the city where the offence was supposed to have taken place.

Angela Thomas, from Cwmbwrla, was sent the penalty notice by Bristol City Council two weeks ago, which said her car had been caught driving in a bus lane in the city.

The letter from the authority, which informed her she had to pay a £60 fine, included photographs of what it claimed was her car, on the A38 Bedminster Parade on January 22.

But Mrs Thomas said neither she nor her husband Phillip had been to Bristol for many years.

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Mrs Thomas is the second person from Swansea within a week to claim they have received a fine from a city for driving in a bus lane, when they had not visited the city.

Earlier this week, Penlan grandmother Christine Quick revealed she had been sent a fine for a similar offence, from Glasgow City Council — despite having never visited Scotland.

Glasgow City Council has since admitted the fine was sent in error, and that an apology would be issued.

Mr Thomas said: "I couldn't believe it when I read about her story, because the same thing has happened to me.

"I haven't been to Bristol for years, and the car was parked at my husband's workplace.

"We have challenged the fine, but it's not right, because some vulnerable people might just accept the fine and pay up for a quiet life."

The photograph of the offending vehicle sent to Mrs Thomas features a blue Ford Fiesta, while Mrs Thomas's car is a silver Ford C-Max. The licence plate numbers differ only by a single character.

A Bristol City Council spokesman said: "We have received an appeal and we will be looking into it. In cases where there has been a discrepancy or error, we would normally cancel the penalty notice."

A DVLA spokesman added: "If a customer receives further notices or contact from the police, we advise them to follow the instructions on the correspondence received and reply to them explaining the situation, and also to alert the police."