I’m fined just for driving my wife to the HOSPITAL… if I refuse to pay the council will charge me £120 – I’m furious

A MAN was stunned after being fined for driving his wife to HOSPITAL – and could face £120 if he refused.

Colin Lovell, 87, from Nailsea, was told his new diesel Mercedes was Bristol’s Clean Air Zone compliant – so he was furious when he was then hit with a penalty.

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Colin says it means he has to pay £9 every time he drives his Euro6 diesel car in Bristol.

The 87-year-old bought his Mercedes C220 from a dealership in Farnborough last December.

They told him his car was Clean Air Zone (CAZ) compliant because it was a Euro6 diesel.

However, Mr Lovell received a criminal complaint after driving his wife to an appointment at the Bristol Royal Infirmary – and his appeal was dismissed.

He discovered that his car was one of thousands of vehicles deemed Bath compliant Clean Air Zone – but not Bristols.

ABSOLUTELY SMOKING

said Colin Lovell Bristol Post: “When I left the dealership, it is a Euro6 diesel. I asked the seller if I could take it to Bristol and was told, ‘Of course you can. It’s Euro6.

“Two weeks later I drove to Bristol and took my wife to the hospital and I was fined £9.

“I challenged it and they said, ‘No, the car is non-compliant’, so I’m very angry about that.

“I paid because there is no way out and if I don’t pay it’s £120 if you don’t pay within seven days.

“I’m very upset about the whole thing.

I paid because there is no way out and if I don’t pay it will be £120 if you don’t pay within seven days.

Colin Lovel

“I don’t see the logic why I can drive this car to Bath without paying a Clean Air Zone fee but not to Bristol.

“It’s a Euro6 diesel that aims to be the new clean diesel cars that meet all Clean Air Zones.

“It’s completely exaggerated.”

Bristol City Council set up its CAZ with the same criteria for diesel and petrol vehicles as Birmingham’s.

Mr Lovell’s car is compliant and in order to drive to any other city without having to pay a CAZ fee, including Bath.

But Bristol said it had made its CAZ a category D, which is the Clean Air Zone’s most restrictive class.

A spokesman for the council said: “The Government has set statutory pollution limits and we have introduced a Clean Air Zone to ensure Bristol meets those limits as quickly as possible.

“A major source of air pollution in cities is road traffic, particularly diesel engines.

“Air pollution affects everyone in Bristol, especially children, the elderly and those with heart, respiratory and underlying health conditions.”