A climbing enthusiast says he was unfairly issued a penalty charge notice (PCN) as a result of “misleading” parking restriction signs.

Andy Laing, from Sittingbourne, has been leaving his car in the same place near Chimera Climbing on the Wincheap Industrial Estate in Canterbury for almost two years.

As spaces at the bouldering centre are limited, he parks in the road nearby next to the same lamp post each time.

But on Saturday, November 25 the Gaze Hill Avenue resident was hit with a fine.

He explained: “The sign I parked next to only says heavy goods vehicles can’t park there and the sign opposite says the same thing.

“But when I was climbing one of the workers told me some people had been ticketed.

“When I came out my car already had a ticket on it.

“I called the warden over and he said as it was a single yellow line and there was a car parking sign at the bottom of the road I couldn’t park there.”

However, the 42-year-old says this is misleading and that the council “cannot expect people to check every sign”.

“I always park next to that sign because it’s the closest to the climbing centre,” he said. “You park according to what the sign says.”

Alongside the fine, a picture was attached of Andy’s car as evidence as well as a separate image of a sign which states cars cannot park at the spot between 8am and 6.30pm from Monday to Saturday.

However, Andy photographed his car directly next to a sign which had no mention of this.

He went home and checked the Canterbury City Council parking map, to discover he was in fact not allowed to park in the spot.

The data scientist explained: “The parking zone says I shouldn't be able to park there but the sign doesn’t reflect that. The signs contradict each other.

“I drove round the estate and all of the other lamp posts have both signs on them.

“But for some reason the lamp posts on the road next to and opposite the climbing centre don’t have both signs on them.

“The signs are also so far apart that you only really see the one you’re parked next to.

“I’ve been parking there for the best part of two years because that’s the only place I go on that estate.”

He has appealed the PCN, however the city council says it is “satisfied” the penalty charge notice was correctly issued.

A spokesperson said: "The vehicle was parked partly up on the pavement and was unattended. There was no blue badge on display, the yellow line is clearly marked and there are no breaks within it.

"The time plate used by the civil enforcement officer and captured in their photo evidence was one the driver had driven past before parking illegally on the single yellow line.

“We always use a plate that is behind the vehicle for this reason.

"The maximum distance for a plate to be away from the vehicle is 30 metres. This plate was within this distance and the photos taken support this.

"Mr Laing approached our officer at the time and an explanation as to why the PCN was issued was provided.

"It should also be noted that no other cars in the vicinity were parked in this way, which is a strong indication drivers understand the rules and are willing to use the multitude of car parks on the Wincheap estate.

"We have received an appeal against the issuing of this PCN and will be replying to Mr Laing privately about this in the near future."