A NURSE who was given a £25 parking fine despite buying a ticket has slammed the system as unfair.

Alisa Davidson, 50, was slapped with a parking fine on November 11 last year after parking on Merton Meadow car park in Hereford.

She had bought a ticket and had placed it on her dashboard. When she returned to her car her ticket was not there and she found she had been issued with a fine.

After a thorough search for the ticket when she returned home, she found it down an air vent.

She then sent a photo of her ticket and an apology to the council, explaining what had happened.

In March this year she received a reply stating that she received the fine for not having a visible ticket.

She says she was told that her fine would be lifted if she could prove she bought the ticket, such as proof of contactless payment.

Having paid for the ticket by cash however, she had no such proof.

Alisa paid the fine last month after much wrangling with the council, a process she describes as stressful.

She said: "There needs to be a better system in place. It's not set in stone."

She also pointed out what would happen in the event of the ticket machine not working.

A spokesperson for Herefordshire Council said: "It is the driver’s responsibility to ensure that their parking ticket is clearly displayed for inspection by a Civil Enforcement Officer to avoid receiving a penalty charge notice.

"Challenges to Penalty Charge Notices are handled on a case by case basis where the evidence provided by the customer is considered.

"In cases where the evidence is retrospectively provided we would look for verification that the payment for the ticket was made by the motorist for the vehicle in question."