by Dan Bloom

A campaign group has hailed what it claims is a “landmark” judgement saying Medway Council should restrict the use of CCTV cars.

The council has used the camera cars to fine more than 50,000 drivers breaking traffic laws since 2008, bringing in more than £1.6 million.

But a judgement has said they should only be used in “difficult or sensitive” circumstances – otherwise foot patrols should be used instead.

The council says it already follows these rules and the case was a one-off.

However, a tribunal said its definition of “difficult or sensitive” was lacking in what campaigners claim is a test case with wide implications.

It began last year when Chatham resident Jackie Hubbard was fined £60 for pulling over in a taxi rank in Ordnance Street for 63 seconds.

She asked anti-CCTV campaign group NoToMob to take the case to a Traffic Penalty Tribunal, an independent body which judges disputed fines.

Mrs Hubbard won her 13-month battle, mainly because a sign read “no waiting” instead of “no stopping”.

But adjudicator John O’Higgins said his decision was strengthened because the council did not act “fairly or proportionately” and should have used an on-foot officer, instead of sending her a fine in the post.

The council insisted it was a “difficult or sensitive” area because it was near a school and residents had abused CCTV car drivers – something the adjudicator dismissed.

“Verbal abuse… occurs all too frequently,” he said. “I am not satisfied this is capable of amounting to an adequate justification. It is unclear why the proximity of a school should be of any relevance.”

NoToMob campaigners (anti-CCTV car) at the new Chatham Waterfront bus station during a protest last year

There was “no evidence” the council had acted fairly or proportionately, he said, adding: “The vehicle had stopped for just over a minute, with the driver remaining in the vehicle and where no obstruction was caused.”

NoToMob spokesman Nigel Wise, 60, who has led tribunals against several councils, claims the judgement brings thousands of previous fines into question.

CCTV cars often park outside schools and drivers claim they are fined for minor breaches.

Mr Wise said: “They issue tickets willy-nilly in the hope that people will pay.

"Most people can’t be bothered to fight – that’s not a fair way to conduct parking enforcement.”

The council said it has been correctly restricting the use of CCTV cars for more than a year, and the case was a one-off.

A spokesman said: “This is not new and has actually been happening since April 2011 when, following advice from the adjudicator, we changed the way the car was used so that it was only used to enforce when it was not deemed safe or feasible to issue tickets on foot.”

The council spent £850 submitting more than 200 pages of evidence to the tribunal.

More extreme claims by Mr Wise, including that every single CCTV car ticket was void because of faulty paperwork, were dismissed.

The council spokesman added: “We are pleased that the adjudicator has found no case to answer in regards to [these] inaccurate claims. We are happy to respect and abide by the adjudicator’s decision.”