“ONE- nil to the people!” That’s how Carl D’Souza described his victory over Maidstone council over disputed parking tickets.

Mr D’Souza successfully appealed to the independent Traffic Penalty Tribunal after Maidstone council issued him with two parking tickets and failed to listen to his pleas of mitigation.

His penalties have now been quashed and the council strongly criticised by the adjudicator.

Mr D’Souza had a valid visitor’s parking permit that would have enabled him to park his mother’s car, which he borrowed when his own car broke down, in the residents’ parking bay outside his home in Florence Road last October.

By mistake he left the permit in his own car in the garage, so he placed a note explaining the situation on the windscreen and asked wardens to knock on the door if there was a problem. Unfortunately he was then taken ill and laid up in bed for two days. When he recovered he had received two parking tickets.

He said: “I immediately went to the council to explain, stating that I lived at the house, that I had a permit for the address and that I went to lengths to help the parking attendant locate me if needs be. They refused my mitigating circumstances out of hand.”

But Mr D’Souza continued with the appeal process and took his case to the National Parking Adjudication Service.

He took an afternoon off work to attend an appeal hearing in May but Maidstone council did not send a representative.

The adjudicator judged Mr D’Souza to be telling the truth about what happened and instructed Maidstone council to take account of the mitigating circumstances.

But the council’s response was simply a reiteration of a demand for payment.

Now the adjudicator, John Higgins, has issued an order quashing the penalties and criticising the council for its response.

He said the council had “demonstrated a misunderstanding not only of what has occurred in this case, but also of its duty in general to consider mitigation before deciding to enforce a penalty”.

Describing the council’s response to his initial ruling as“ambiguous”, he concluded: “I am not satisfied that the council has complied with its obligation to consider mitigation and both appeals are allowed.”

Mr D’Souza said: “I feel relieved and vindicated. I felt I was being bullied by the council.

“The council’s website claims they are working to make Maidstone a better place to work and live for its residents. I beg to differ.”

Maidstone council’s parking services manager, Jeff Kitson, said: “The ticket was issued correctly. Our policy, in this case, was only to pursue one of the offences. The adjudicator looked at this case and the charge has been waived.”