A HEALTH worker who refused to pay a parking fine after he moved his car to help an injured solder is delighted that an independent adjudicator has advised that the ticket should be torn up NHS podiatrist Keith Turner refused to pay the £70 fine for parking outside the Moor Street Podiatry Clinic off The Tything, Worcester.

Mr Turner only moved his BMW 318i SE from the staff car park because he had blocked in another driver who had parked there by mistake.

He parked in an area which was set back from the road only as a temporary measure on Thursday, January 15, so that he could let the other driver, a soldier who had served in Afghanistan, move his car.

Mr Turner, a former policeman once responsible for managing traffic wardens, appealed against the decision to issue the ticket.

Although Martin Hoare, the adjudicator from the Traffic Penalty Tribunal of England and Wales, dismissed the appeal he has advised Worcester City Council to cancel the notice because of the unusual circumstances.

He said: “I find that the vehicle was moved for a short period only to facilitate the exit of a patient who had sustained injuries while undertaking national military service.

“In the particular circumstances, I find that this constitutes compelling reasons. I therefore recommend the council to cancel the notice to the owner.

“I also find no evidence that the council has considered the extenuating circumstances, let alone considered whether it considers them to be compelling. That is notwithstanding the lucid explanation of the circumstances in the pre-appeal correspondence and in the appeal document.”

Mr Turner, aged 50, of Medici Road, Bromsgrove, praised the commonsense of the adjudicator and criticised the council for issuing the ticket in the first place.

He said: “I am hugely disappointed by the total lack of any reasoning process from Worcester City Coun-cil. A council as foolish as this one could well ignore the adjudicator’s ruling. I still see it as a victory for commonsense over mindless bureaucracy.”

Worcester City Council said: “The adjudicator found in favour of the council. It was within the council’s rights to issue the ticket and the £70 is still owed.

“However, the adjudicator has asked the council to consider the case in the light of the mitigating circumstances.

“Our legal team are in the process of doing this. We are therefore unable to offer any further comment until this review has been completed and Mr Turner has been notified directly with the outcome.”