All the machines were covered, I photographed them along with sign saying FREE parking for 3 hours. mick

Local council, but didn't have a chance to fully read signage other than it saying 3 hrs free,as my child needed loo desperately, but by the time I got back to check it out fully, some 30 mind later, ticket had been issued. Thanks for replies. mick

Hi, i'm new to the site and was wondering if anyone could help with this problem;- I decided to visit Hexham, having never been shopping there before, taking my 7 year old son with me. Nearing Hexham my son told me he needed the toilet and I managed to find a car-park on the edge of town, which was signed as a long-stay FREE car-park. Entering the car-park at 11.20am I also noticed what looked like a ‘pay machine’ but this was covered in black plastic and obviously not in use. I parked as quickly as possible and took my son into town to look for some public conveniences and returned to my car some 30 minutes later to double check the parking was indeed FREE, since I had noticed the covered up machines, I found a parking ticket on my windscreen. Considering the signage states that it is a FREE car-park for 3 HOURS and that my car was observed entering at 11.20am yet I was still issued with a ticket at 11.41am ONLY 20 MINUTES later, also incorrectly noting the colour of my vehicle. I cannot see how this is a valid claim for a parking fine considering the times involved and the fact that my time of entering was noted. I could understand if the time was noted and I had still not returned several hours later but this is not the case, as proven by the times stated on the ticket. I'd be grateful for any help on this. Thank you Mick