We slap customers with £70 fines for parking outside our pub and spy on them with cameras – their fault if caught

PUNTERS at a popular pub are hit with parking fines of £70 – despite over 20 clear signs telling them the rules.

The Blue Bell in Yarm, North Yorkshire is asking customers to enter their registration details to ensure only those entering the pub use the car park.

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However, some unsuspecting customers still forget about this and are slapped with the hefty fine.

And that’s despite the fact that the owners insist there are 10-15 warning signs outside, as well as inside the doors, tills and toilets – so drivers have plenty of warning.

The signs read: “Nobody likes a parking fine. Did you enter your registration today?”

Even so, the company has faced angry bar-goers who turn to Trip Advisor to leave nasty one-star reviews.

But the fines aren’t the pub’s fault as the car park is regulated by the outside company Parking Eye and the pub makes “not a penny” from the fines.

The main car park is behind the building and there is another towards the front doors, but few cars filled the spaces on Thursday when Sun Online was visiting.

The pub remained quiet, with just a few tables occupied by older couples eating food and friends busying themselves with university work.

Shift Supervisor Scott Briggs said, “The reason we put it in was because Main Street started charging for parking.

“Within a few days we arrived one morning and three quarters of the parking lot was filled with workers and shoppers.”

The defiant Scott stressed that there are only about 40 spaces in the car park and if nothing were done the entire space would be filled “within an hour”.

He added that the pub is doing its best to discourage its customers from leaving with a gaping hole in their wallets.

That includes spying on customers every morning to make sure no one gets caught by the fines — and canceling later if necessary.

But despite their best efforts, Scott and his team are still handing out four or five fines a week, even though the rules have now been in place for four years.

My partner came home and found his £100 parking ticket!

Victim of a parking fine

The 28-year-old added: “Fines always go up when the weather is nice because people immediately sit in the back to meet their friends.

“It’s difficult to remind every customer when we’re busy, but we put up as many signs as possible.”

He added that nine out of ten people who get swiped are first-time customers.

Scott also said the pub’s one-star ratings often disappear after players have received their refunds.

But he admitted: “A lot of people think that if they ignore the penalty, nothing will happen.”

Earlier this week, a customer said she was shocked to find a fine in the mail after visiting the pub.

She claimed: “There was only one sign we could see saying the apartments next door should not park there. [One day] My partner came home to find his £100 parking ticket!”

But Middlesbrough customer Georgia O’Connor was aware of the scheme after she was stung in another car park nearby.

The 21-year-old carer said: “It will be frustrating for customers but I understand the system because parking is a nightmare in Yarm so they came here.

“If people don’t read the signs and they’re here for the first time, I can see why they might get stung, but there are enough signs.”

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