A FAMILY has been landed with a hefty fine and a threat of court action after a six-month battle to get a parking ticket overturned.

In March, dad Jonathan Everett took his late dad to the Bricklayers pub, in Bergholt Road, Colchester, for a pint to mark his birthday in a bid to get him out of the house despite his ailing health.

But a month later, he was sent a parking fine from a private company which had taken over the running of the car park, after the pub owners discovered commuters were abusing its proximity to North Station.

Visitors are required to put their car registration into an iPad when they enter the pub, to avoid getting a ticket.

But at the time, Mr Everett, who lives in Braiswick, said there were no signs in place and the issue was never raised by staff during his hour-long stay with his dad.

He says despite a number of conversations with staff at the pub, who assured him the issue would be dealt with because he was a legitimate customer, nothing was ever done.

He is now facing a £236 fine, which must be paid before Thursday. If the fine is not paid, debt collectors say he will be taken to court.

Mr Everett has been in constant touch with the pub staff, its owners, Flying Leisure and car park owners CPP.

READ MORE: 'Hounded' 70-year-old threatens to take parking company to court

He said: “It has been a complete nightmare from the very start.

“Each time I went in to speak about it, I was always told: ‘Leave it with me, it will be dealt with,’ and each time nothing was done.

“Even when I started getting letters from debt collectors, I was told the same thing and I suppose I stupidly took them at face value.”

The fine was initially £60, which increased to £100, then to £170, £182, with the threat of a County Court Judgement, and then finally £236.

Dozens of other people say they were also “caught” in March and April, with many saying staff had also assured them either the new system was not yet in place or any tickets which had been issued would be “dealt with”. One of the lucky ones is Myland community councillor David Clouston who was issued a ticket after a visit to the pub in March.

However, after a long line of correspondence with the pub owners and the parking agency - as well as carrying out his own investigatory work - his fine was rescinded.

He said: “It came down to; are they going to take me to court for being a paying customer in a pub who did not input his registration number because he didn’t know he had to?”

Water treatment engineer Chris Elliott is also facing court action after using the car park for 40 minutes while he met with friends.

The 34-year-old said: “What has really bugged me is that I went there with a friend and he’d heard there had been a change so I actually asked at the bar about what I had to do and I was told I would be alright, I didn’t need to do anything.

“When I asked what I would do if I did get a ticket, they said not to worry, to just bring it in and they would sort it for me.”

He added: “Sure enough, the £60 fine came in which I’ve just ignored because these companies are just hoping people will panic and pay up.

“I’m not going to back down. I did everything I could to make sure this didn’t happen.”

Mr Elliot’s fine has now risen to £170.

Martin Goss, Colchester borough councillor for Mile End, has met with the pub’s owners and said “substantial” new signs are now in place to make sure customers cannot miss the instructions while customers can now park for four hours without fear of a ticket.

If a customer drives to the pub and does not want to drive home, arrangements can now be made to leave vehicles overnight without the risk of a fine.

Mr Goss said: “Hopefully this will improve customers’ experience.”

“I want the Bricklayers to be what it has been for some now, at the heart of the Mile End community.”

A spokeswoman for the Bricklayers Arms said: “Due to the close proximately of the station, we instructed CPP to ensure free car parking is available for all Bricklayers Customers.

“We have no jurisdiction in the operational running of CPP.”

She added Mr Goss is satisfied the car park has been run in a fair and legal manner.