Sheffield boy, 12, hit with bus lane fine - angry mum prepared to go to court to fight 'ludicrous' PCN

Harri Parker was heading back from the Blades’ play-off semi-final second leg defeat at Nottingham Forest when the car he was travelling in was apparently snapped in a bus lane earlier this year.

Despite a family friend having been driving the car at the time and Harri then being five years too young to legally drive, his mother says Nottingham City Council has so far refused to overturn the fine or reissue it in the driver’s name.

His mum, Jeni Parker, from Killamarsh, says she’s now prepared to go to court to fight the ‘ludicrous’ fine.

She says Harri, who has since turned 13, has a mobility vehicle because he was born with hypoplastic left heart syndrome, meaning the left side of his heart is underdeveloped.

The licence plate is registered in his name as the family were advised this would make matters easier when switching vehicles, and that is why the fine was automatically issued in his name.

Jeni and the family friend have both failed in their efforts to get it reissued in the driver’s name, despite pointing out Harri’s age and how they are the only named drivers on the insurance.

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Jeni said: “It’s absolutely ludicrous and I’ve said I want a court date because it will be hilarious when Harri walks into court and they see how young he is.

“We said from the start that we weren’t opposed to paying the fine, we just wanted it reissued in the driver’s name. But they won’t listen and the fine’s now increased from £60 to £90.”

James Douglas, Nottingham City Council’s head of operations, said: “We appreciate that this is an unusual situation which has led to some confusion, for which we apologise, but there’s a simple explanation for how it has happened.

“Our enforcement cameras are linked to the DVLA’s database of vehicle owners and it seems that this car has a personalised number plate which is registered in Harrison’s name. We had no way of knowing his age because the DVLA don’t issue councils with a date of birth of the owner in these circumstances.

“We’ve therefore asked the family to provide a copy of Harrison’s birth certificate so we can look into this further.”