A FATHER-OF-TWO is fighting a parking ticket he was given for pulling over for less than a minute to do up his son’s seatbelt in Hertford town centre.

Justin Arbon was driving along Fore Street when he needed to pull over briefly after his eight-year-old son undid his seatbelt, but he was immediately slapped with a £70 parking fine by an East Herts Council traffic warden.

Mr Arbon, of Foxdells, Birch Green, said: “I stopped to strap my son in and by the time it took me to get out my seat, go to the back, re-strap him in and go back to my seat, there was a ticket on my window.

“The traffic warden was still there and I explained the situation to him, but he said the ticket had already been written out.

“If I’d have been parked there for 10 to 15 minutes, I would have understood, but I was there for less than a minute.”

The father’s appeal against the July 16 ticket was rejected and he is now in the process of further appeals.

The fine may be increased to £105 if he loses.

Mr Arbon said: “I think it’s absolutely crazy. I’m shocked and disgusted.

“I wrote to the council to explain what happened and I would have thought they would have realised I was doing something important – helping my child be safe.

“There’s no way I’m paying the fine.”

An East Herts Council spokeswoman said: “There’s a high proportion of non-compliance in Fore Street so tickets are issued as soon as anyone mis-parks and Mr Arbon was on double yellow lines.

“He appealed within 14 days and we did not grant his appeal, but we reduced the fine to £35 if he paid within 14 days.

“We did not hear from him, so on September 13, we sent him a notice to owner, telling him to pay the fine or make an official representation and we will look into it again.

“If he’s still unhappy with our decision, he can appeal to an independent parking adjudicator.”

The deadline for the notice to owner is Monday (October 17).

herts