A MAN who received a parking penalty notice despite having a permit clearly displayed on his windscreen said the company responsible must be held accountable.

Steve Jones, from Westhide, is a regular user of Hereford Leisure Centre and a parking permit which he bought to save cash on parking charges is permanently in place on the top left of his windscreen.

But the 57-year-old said he was 'livid' to return to his vehicle on August 8 to find a fine waiting for him.

When he appealed the decision, a photograph showing just a portion of his windscreen was sent back to him, along with a letter to say the fine would be upheld.

After contacting Halo Leisure, the ticket was finally cancelled but Mr Jones said he has questions for the company responsible for his fine.

He said: "They have got to be brought to account. When I wrote to them I actually expected to receive an apology in the post so to get a response saying that I was in breach of the terms of conditions of parking and to enclose a photo of just 25 per cent of the windscreen is an absolute disgrace.

"If this was a pub car park I would walk away but as it's public property they have got to be answerable to their actions."

Mr Jones said he plans to contact his MP, Jesse Norman, if he fails to receive a response to questions he has sent to the company.

Responding to the Hereford Times, Corporate Services Parking Management said it is unable to comment on individual cases.

In a statement, the company said: "Rules for local authority parking and rules for the parking of vehicles on private land are very different and comparisons should not be made of the same.

"We are an approved operator of the British Parking Association (BPA) and strive to provide a professional service to the general public as well as maintaining our obligations to our clients."

All parking policies are in line with the current BPA Code of Practice, the statement added, and a recent BPA audit found the service the company provides goes "above and beyond" the current guidelines for best practice.

"However, we are in the business of enforcement and as such this can sometimes make us unpopular," it concluded.