Motorists are charged £1.50 for an hour (Image: Google)
A couple who stopped in the New Forest for what they expected to be a brief ice cream break have been left incensed after an unexpected penalty arrived through their letterbox. Colin Beck, 73, and his wife had been visiting the area near Fordingbridge, Hampshire, when they pulled into the Godshill Cricket forestry car park and bought two Mr Whippys from an ice cream van. Yet after eating them in their vehicle, the couple were subsequently hit with a £100 parking charge.
Colin said the ice cream vendor had told them they could remain for 15 minutes before they were required to pay for parking. The couple insist they had left in under 10 minutes, but a Forestry England warden had recorded their number plate. The pensioner has refused to pay and is contesting the charge, reports the Liverpool Echo.
The incident follows Forestry England’s introduction of parking fees across the New Forest earlier this year (Image: Getty Images)
“They can get stuffed,” Colin told the Daily Echo. “That’s the principle, really, isn’t it? The ice cream man says he’s there all the time and he says you can park there to eat your ice cream, but what are you expected to do?”
“Buy an ice cream and then drive along the road eating it which is dangerous?”
The incident follows Forestry England’s introduction of parking fees across the New Forest earlier this year.
On April 20, charges were implemented at all 129 of the organisation’s previously free car parks. The regulations apply to all vehicles, including motorbikes and those displaying blue badges.
Motorists are charged £1.50 for an hour, £3 for two hours, £5 for four hours or £8 for stays of more than four hours. Colin, who has been visiting the New Forest for “donkey’s years”, said the changes had left him questioning the future of the area.
The New Forest National Park (Image: Getty)
“It’s another way of screwing the motorists,” he said.
“It must have cost them a fortune to put in all the notices, the ones that do have car park machines, all that sort of stuff.
He further expressed sympathy for ice cream vendors operating in the region, suggesting the introduction of parking fees could deter visitors from coming.
“The New Forest is meant to be a free place, and I feel sorry for the guys that have got the ice cream businesses, because it must have hit them really hard.”
Forestry England confirmed that drivers were generally afforded 15 minutes before payment was required, with parking rangers keeping watch over the sites.
A spokesperson stated that the organisation did not dictate how motorists used that time, adding that every car park displayed clear signage outlining the terms and the option to pay later.
They explained that the system granted drivers sufficient time to use the “pay later” option before a parking charge notice was issued.
Yet Colin remains deeply dissatisfied with the situation and insisted the policy needed to be revisited.
“They’ve got to rethink their policy,” he said. “I mean, it’s my word against the guy in the van.”
He branded the penalty “a bit heavy handed”, saying he was simply trying to pull over and enjoy an ice cream.
The row emerges amid growing complaints from motorists caught out by new parking regulations at popular beauty spots. In North Wales, eight Devon bikers reportedly faced a combined £960 in fines after pulling up at Llyn Tegid in Eryri National Park, where new automatic number plate recognition cameras had been installed.
The riders stated they were unaware of a new £1 motorcycle parking fee and would have paid the charge had they been aware.
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