Prosthetic Leg Man Gets ‘Unfair’ Parking Fine

A disabled man claims he was given a parking ticket after he pulled his car over into a loading bay because his false leg had fallen off.

Lee Scarrott received the £70 fine after he made an emergency stop in the space in Nottingham city centre as he tried to find a missing piece of his prosthetic limb.

The 47-year-old, who lost his right leg in a motorbike accident in 2007, appealed against the ticket and was initially turned down by Nottingham City Council, but the authority eventually dropped the charge.

Mr Scarrott, of Gardendale Avenue, Clifton, told the Nottingham Post he drove his specially adapted car into the city centre on December 3 last year and parked legally in a disabled bay in St Peter’s Gate before carrying out some errands.

On his way back to the car, the suction pin which keeps his prosthetic limb attached to his body began to come loose and it was only as he drove away that he realised.

After driving a short distance, his false leg fell off and he pulled over into a loading bay in Victoria Street to try to find the suction pin, thinking it must be in the street.

Mr Scarrott, who normally walks unaided, said he used a walking stick to go back and look. Having found the missing part, he returned to his car, only to find a ticket stuck to his windscreen.

He told the paper he had only been away from his car for five minutes, and added: “I think it’s unfair, and the way the council had treated me is a disgrace.”

A spokesman for the city council said a personal apology had not been issued to Mr Scarrott but confirmed that, in light of the circumstances, the council had cancelled the penalty notice.

He said: “The action that the parking attendant took was appropriate at the time, having walked past and seen the car illegally parked. The most appropriate thing to do once we found out the full details was to waive the fine, which we did.”