by Jenni Horn

Motorists in Medway have been duped into paying more for their parking.

Pay and display machines across the towns clearly state they do not accept five pence pieces - but the Medway Messenger can exclusively reveal they do.

The discovery comes after it was reported the council was spending £400,000 replacing all 129 ticket machines across the towns.

Both the old and new machines have signs on them which state 'Do not use 5p coins' and 5ps are not included on the list of accepted coins.

However, we have tested both the old and the new models and found 5p pieces are accepted.

The machines do not give change, so many drivers will be paying out more than they need to for parking by being forced to put in a larger amount even though they have 5p coins in their pocket - or risk a fine if they insert a lower amount.

Medway Council made almost £1.3 million in parking fines last year, with enforcement officers and CCTV cars issuing 45,783 notices in 2009/10 - up from 44,836 in the previous 12 months.

The car park where most tickets were issued was Blue Boar Lane, Rochester, where 1,835 tickets were dished out.

Motorist John Vane, 67, from Chatham, said: "I dread to think how many times I have put too much in those machines when I might have had 5ps I could have used. I think it's disgraceful. The council has basically been lying to us."

A woman motorist, who did not want to be named, said: "I use the pay and display machines all the time when I park for work. I never knew they accepted 5ps. I will definitely start using them from now on."

Brian Macdowell, chairman of the Kent branch of the Association of British Drivers, said motorists in Medway are getting an unfair deal.

He added: "Parking machines should be as easy to use as possible and take any legal tender that is currently in use. Medway Council is making it as difficult as possible for people to pay what they need to.

"I can categorically say that Medway has the strictest parking enforcement in the county. Bearing in mind how strict the controls are, people should have the option to pay with 5p pieces and not get trapped into paying more."

Medway Council claimed the machines do not accept 5p pieces because there is a possibility they could jam.

A spokesman said: "If people try to put in 5p coins it will register on some occasions but this cannot be guaranteed, and the coin may cause a jam.

"Because of this the notice states that 5p coins are not accepted."