A BRACKNELL man has taken on town centre parking wardens and won in a dispute over a fine he was given while struggling with a flat tyre.

David Conn, 66, came into difficulty in April this year when a flat tyre left his car stuck in The Ring and has spoken about his near five-month challenge to have a £70 fine he was given while getting help, overturned.

Speaking to the News, Mr Conn, who lives in Temple Park, said he felt council-contracted wardens were taking advantage and was forced to take his case to a tribunal after his first appeal to parking firm Indigo was dismissed.

A traffic penalty tribunal finally ruled in Mr Conn's favour on September 20 and Mr Conn hopes his success will spur on other people to question dubious fines.

Mr Conn said: "I do feel like I could have been taken advantage of. I would have paid it if I hadn't had a flat tyre, I've paid parking fines in the past.

"I feel very satisfied.

"There's a lot of poor people out there who might just pay the fine as soon as they get it, otherwise it says it will jump to £70, so you would just pay without challenging it.

"It would have been cheaper for me to just pay the £35 in the end, but it's for other people in the same situation that would pay out and be cheated, I hope now more people question it."

Indigo, the company contracted by Bracknell Forest Council to monitor parking, refused to back down despite evidence from a garage proving Mr Conn did indeed have a flat tyre.

On its website, Indigo says it hires "high quality parking attendants" and that it has contracts with a number of local authorities but they have been slammed by some drivers in the town centre.

Anthony Bates, 55, was nearly caught out by a parking warden who tried to ticket his car while it was in a bank's customer parking space at the end of last year.

He said: "I bet some people pay these tickets to avoid the hassle and I think that's what Indigo rely on, that people don't think and just pay them straight off. People pay out so they don't have to pay more in future. I was lucky I was there to challenge the warden at the time otherwise I probably would have paid too."

Despite the complaints, Bracknell Forest Council said it stands by the parking firm and gave it their "full support".

Cllr Chris Turrell, executive member for planning and transport, said: “The adjudicator formed an opinion as they are entitled to do, but the council has another view. The council would not take any infringement to tribunal level without having a reason to do so. It is not unusual for the adjudicator and a local authority to disagree over such matters.

“Indigo has the full support of the council when it comes to trying to do a very challenging job in the best interests of all residents and road users.‎”