DRIVERS who were fined for parking infringements in Great Malvern's newest car park earlier in the year could be in line to get their money back.

Malvern Hills District Council, which operates the car park behind Belle Vue Terrace, has admitted it had been fining people when it had no authority to do so.

The error came to light after a Malvern businessman queried his parking ticket.

James Rolfe, of Anglo Digital in Worcester Road, was fined £20 on March 28 this year, for overstaying his ticket time in the new car park behind Belle Vue Terrace.

But after he protested, MHDC relented, admitting that the order which officially designated the car park did not come into effect until May 13, some months after it opened for use.

"They had to repay my fine, because it was not officially a car park when the fine was issued," he said.

"This means that anyone who was fined in that car park up until May 13 should be reimbursed. The council must have records of who was fined, so they should be getting in touch with them."

Mr Rolfe was also given a refund for a second parking ticket issued some time later, when the car park was officially in operation.

However, council officer David Billings said this repayment was only "a gesture of goodwill and as some recompense for the trouble in appealing against the first penalty notice".

Paul Sobczyk of MHDC said that between March 25 to April 18, when the council realised its mistake and stopped issuing tickets, some 30 had been issued.

He said the council was trying to track the vehicle owners through the DVLA, though this was proving a lengthy process. Some but not all had been contacted.

He said: "People who think they may be entitled to a refund should get in touch with us."

Mr Sobczyk said the council was also looking at the question of whether people who paid for parking charges in that time were also entitled to a refund, and, if so, how the repayment should be handled.