AN angry Worcester resident slammed with £200 worth of parking tickets is refusing to pay up as he believes he had been caught out in a deliberate trap.

Matt Chapman, of Armstrong Drive, Diglis, was issued with two parking tickets after he parked in a small bay area off Portland Walk.

The tickets, issued by Parking Control Management, a firm employed to police the parking on private land in the area, each demand £100.

But Mr Chapman says he doesn't believe he should pay the fines as they are too high and it's unclear who owns the land.

"I am not moaning because I had the tickets but my issue is I have parked on a public road," said the 31-year-old, who was issued with the tickets at 6.10am on June 14 and 6.20am on June 21.

"I have spoken with the police and they say it's a civil matter and the Citizen Advice Bureau have tried to advise me but they can only say so much.

"There is no way I am going to pay it. It's just disgusting. It's like they have done it specifically to trap people.

"I am annoyed about the tickets but it's more of an annoyance as I have only recently moved in."

Mr Chapman is also concerned about the scheme in general.

He added: "There's a lot of elderly residents and the one lady paid almost on the spot. How many people are actually paying these fines and getting ripped off? There seems to be no help and I keep hitting dead ends."

Despite his confusion though, Worcestershire County Council's highways department have confirmed the part of the road where Mr Chapman's Saxo was parked is not the public highway.

A spokesperson for the council said it is only the responsibility of the public highway up to where the double yellow lines end, after that it is private land.

The dispute is now being dealt with by an independent appeals body and Parking Control Management said they would not comment on the matter at this time.