DRIVERS handed parking fines on Boxing Day in Barnet are being advised to appeal the tickets.

Just 57 enforcement notices of £60 each were dished out by parking attendants after Barnet Council decided not to treat the day like a bank holiday as it fell on a Saturday.

Nigel Humphries, a spokesman for the Association of British Drivers, said people should appeal on the grounds it's a public holiday, as 15 other London Boroughs decided not to enforce regulations on the same day.

He said: “In London particularly it's very difficult to know which borough you're in, as they all merge from one to another.

“There should be a policy across the whole country which sets out December 25 and 26 and January 1 as holidays, no matter what day they fall on.

“People should appeal to the Ombudsman on the grounds it is a public holiday, it doesn't cost anything to do so.”

A statement from Barnet Council defended the decision to enforce regulations, saying: “Parking enforcement is not simply about giving tickets to motorists who overstay in pay and display bays; civil enforcement officers also play a very important role in managing traffic flow across the borough.

“It was important that officers were on duty to ensure roads were kept as clear and obstruction-free as possible and to enable a steady turnover of cars in the borough’s town centres on, for many shopkeepers, the first day of the post-Christmas sales.

“It is encouraging that so few tickets did have to be issued on the day, as it illustrates that the majority of motorists were abiding by the parking restrictions in place in the borough.”

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