Parking tickets issued all over Hounslow could be illegal, according to a Euro MP.

Ashley Mote, independent member of the European Parliament for the south-east of England, believes he discovered the fault after taking umbrage with Hounslow Council's parking department when he was issued with a parking fine in Chiswick.

Deciding to challenge the fine, he took the ticket to his lawyers after insisting that a resident's permit was correctly displayed in his vehicle when a parking attendant slapped him with a charge.

Mr Mote said: "I showed the fixed penalty notice to my lawyers and they have advised me that the notice was illegal.

"If that is correct, it means that every notice issued in Hounslow is illegal and all these people should be repaid."

But Hounslow Council insist that their tickets are compliant with all the necessary laws.

According to the Road Traffic Act of 1991, parking tickets must show both the date the ticket was issued and the date the fine must be paid by.

Mr Mote's lawyers believe that his ticket was not legal because, they say, it failed to display both dates.

The MEP has written to inform the council that he has "not the slightest intention of paying any fine or penalty".

Our sister paper, the Richmond & Twickenham Times, reported last week that Richmond Borough Council have had to change their parking tickets after discovering that their documents were not fully compliant with the law.

The change came in the wake of cases across the country where councils have agreed to write off many fines because of legal problems.

A spokesman for Hounslow Council said: "We are aware of recent test cases centred on the wording of PCNs.

"Hounslow Council is satisfiedits notices are compliant with existing law."

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