A PENSIONER who took on Essex County Council after being handed a bus lane penalty charge notice has won her case after taking the body to a tribunal – and uncovered huge amounts of money raked in by a Colchester bus lane camera.

Angela Webster, who lives in West Sussex, was handed the dreaded penalty in January when she was in Colchester to visit her son – but ten days after her visit, she was informed via a letter from the county council she had illegally driven in the North Hill bus lane.

Aggrieved by the fine, however, Mrs Webster wrote a three-page appeal to Essex County Council explaining her case, and argued it was unclear whether North Hill was a two-way street, or a one-way street with separate lanes for buses and cars.

Read more >>> North Hill bus gate branded 'cash cow' as council fines drivers £620k in four years

Rejecting her appeal, a letter from the county council read: “There are not sufficient reasons to cancel the penalty charge,” prompting Mrs Webster to appeal the rejection to the traffic penalty tribunal – and she won.

A copy of the adjudicator’s decision, seen by the Gazette, agreed with the footage and photographs provided by Mrs Webster.

Gazette:

It read: “The footage and photographs show advance warning of the bus gate, but in my view this signage was partially obstructed by the poles in front, as shown in the drive through footage [provided by Mrs Webster].

Speaking about the final outcome, Mrs Webster said she was delighted the fine was cancelled.

She said: “I’m in my 70s and I’ve been driving since I was 18 – I don’t drive stupidly and I never have.

“[When I received the PCN] I thought ‘I’m not having this, this isn’t on’.

“Of course, the signs are in such a place that you have to be a contortionist to lean out of the window and see them.”

Mrs Webster added it was the first time she had challenged a PCN.

“I haven’t done it before – I think it must have taken 12 hours to write everything down an put the appeal together.”

The final paragraph from the traffic penalty tribunal read: “The appeal succeeds – I direct that the PCN is cancelled.”

"Bus Gates are about safety" – Essex County Council responds to criticism

A spokesman for Essex County Council justified the use for bus gates, adding the money generated from fines goes back into public transport.

He said: "A spokesperson for Essex County Council said: “For Essex County Council, bus gates are about safety, reducing traffic volume in busy interchanges which also helps with air quality, as well as reducing the temptation of people creating cut-throughs."