Care worker contests fine after 'cloned plates' car caught in bus lane
A car showing Hazel McKean's registration was caught on camera in a bus lane in Dagenham. - Credit: Paul Bennett
A care worker has pleaded with the town hall to drop a fine after a car with her number plate was caught on CCTV in a bus lane.
The car showing Hazel McKean's registration number was pictured in Ripple Road, Dagenham, at 5.14pm on November 26.
Ms McKean, who lives in Rochford, Essex, challenged the fine from Barking and Dagenham Council, telling the local authority she was with her car at the local doctor's surgery getting a flu jab at the time.
The charge came about two weeks after she buried her father.
"It makes me feel so miserable and upset because of all the things I've got to do for my mum, then this drops on the doorstep. I want [the fine] to be dropped," she said.
The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency advised Ms McKean to call the police, to say the vehicle in the bus lane could be using false plates.
The key-worker reported it to Essex Police and the Metropolitan Police on December 9.
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Gillian Blake, Ms McKean's boss, said: "These are organisations you would only contact if you were innocent."
While the registration is the same, the plate on the car caught in Ripple Road doesn't show the dealer or supplier which are displayed on her Kia.
However, the town hall wrote to Ms McKean on February 17 to say it would not cancel the £130 fine because she had not provided "satisfactory" evidence.
A spokesperson for the council said: "The motorist has been advised to provide evidence to substantiate her report to the police with a [crime reference number].
“The onus is on the motorist to provide satisfactory proof the vehicle has been cloned. There is an appeals process to follow and that is what the motorist is best advised to consider and submit the necessary evidence as required.”
Ms McKean said she is now faced with paying her doctor to produce a letter confirming she was at the surgery in a second challenge.
"I can't be in two places at once," she said. "It's awful. If I was in Dagenham, I would pay the fine. I'm not somebody who would tell lies.
"There needs to be something done about cars driving around with false number plates. It's a big issue no one is doing anything about."
