An elderly man being treated for skin cancer and his poor eyesight is fighting a fine over using the wrong car park.

Roger Nathan, 74, from Golders Green, says he is determined to prove how Barnet General Hospital’s parking rules are “too harsh”.

Mr Nathan, who is an ex pilot and entrepreneur, received a fine of £100 during an eye test at the hospital despite already buying a ticket for his car.

It was later revealed that Mr Nathan had parked in a staff area.

Mr Nathan said: “I was worried as I was going to the hospital, whenever you have older people going to hospital of course they’re worried.

“I have been going there for the last two years for skin cancer.”

Barnet General Hospital’s car park is operated by ParkingEye - a company owned by Capita which specialises in automated parking technology such as number plate recognition.

The car park has in the past attracted widespread criticism from elderly users who have been fined for taking too long to purchase tickets or have parked in prohibited areas.

Criticisms have also been made of the signs, as some consider them too small during the dark winter evenings or hard to see in the rain.

Mr Nathan added: “I had apparently, mistakenly parked in a staff area.

“I wrote them once again explaining that they should have told me at the start what was wrong with my ticket and tried to resolve this by speaking with them.”

When Mr Nathan argued with ParkingEye he says he was sent over 57 pages of correspondence about the appeals process.

He said: “This was Incredible and quite overwhelming.

“My view is the lengthy legalistic letters is intended to intimidate me and wholly overwhelm people.

“People who most likely do not have the time or patience to deal with them and simply pay up.”

A ParkingEye spokesperson, said: “Our clients’ parking, in areas such as hospital emergency units, does need to be monitored to ensure that patients and visitors can effectively access services.

"ParkingEye is a member of the British Parking Association (BPA) and follows its code of practice with respect to signage.

"If a driver feels they should not have received a charge we encourage them to submit an appeal and instructions about how to do this are detailed on all communications and on our website.

"If a driver disagrees with our decision, they have the option to appeal to the independent appeals service (POPLA).”