Doctors and nurses at an NHS hospital could have to sell their homes after a court ordered them to pay £12.8million in fines for parking at work.
Staff at University Hospital of Wales in Cardiff have been engaged in a longterm war with firm that runs the car park, racking up 100,000 tickets between them.
The hospital has 6,000 staff but the car park has only 1,800 spaces, so many have to park in spots reserved for visitors - so they decided collectively to park in the spots without paying in protest.
The court ruled doctors and nurses must now pay £128 for every ticket they have received, plus £26,000 in court fees.
One nurse at the University Hospital of Wales in Cardiff owes £150,000 in outstanding tickets meaning she could have to sell her home in order to pay off the debt.
Credit: Just Giving
Campaigner Sue Prior told the Sun: "It is disgusting. This ruling is devastating for doctors and nurses across the country."
Advert
Robert O'Brien, 35, quit his hospital job earlier this year when he was hit with almost £800 in fines from contractor Indigo
He told the Daily Mail: "I quit my job with the NHS because of the stress of being hit with parking fines.
"I loved the job but just couldn't take it any more.
"I don't think it's too much to ask when you are working nights to be able to park at your place of work."
The ruling by District Judge Clare Coates came after a three day trial at Cardiff Civil Justice Centre, in a case involving three workers Stephen Dadswell, Emily Booth and Sophie Round.
The trio have actor have each racked up more than 100 parking tickets, according to parking firm Indigo.
Advert
A crowdfunding campaign has now been launched to help the nurses launch an appeal against the verdict
A spokeswoman for Indigo Park Services told The Independent: "In April last year, Cardiff and Vale University Health Board and Indigo agreed a new set of measures to improve car parking on the University Hospital of Wales site.
"As a gesture of goodwill towards car-park users, parking charge notices issued up to the end of March 2016 were cancelled. In addition, the cost of a PCN was reduced to £10.00, if paid within 14 days.
"Despite this, a number of people refused to pay for parking at the site. They also ignored the resulting PCNs and declined to use the formal appeals process. The recent court hearing related to three persistent offenders, who have accumulated in excess of 100 PCNs between them since April 2016.
Advert
"As the company responsible for managing parking and ensuring the free flow of traffic at Cardiff UHW, we have an obligation to ensure enforcement of parking restrictions. For this reason, and with the full support of the Health Board, we took action against this small group of persistent offenders. The court's ruling has justified our decision to take this action."
Featured Image Credit: Google Maps