Charity runners and their supporters slapped with parking fines while taking part in Race For Life fundraiser for Cancer Research UK
Drivers were forced to leave their cars on grass verges after all allocated spaces were filled - and some motorists are now calling for the money from fines to be donated to charity
PARKING officers have been slammed for issuing numerous parking fines to people taking place in a charity event over the weekend.
A number of drivers were slapped with Penalty Charge Notices while attending the Race For Life charity run in Heaton Park, Manchester.
According to , the local council claimed to have worked closely with event organisers to ensure the "maximum possible number of parking spaces" were on offer.
But cars were given £50 fines if they weren't parked in allocated bays.
Council regulations mean any car parked on a grass verge, pavement or area with double yellow lines is eligible for a fine, even if the vehicle is displaying a valid parking ticket.
Drivers who had purchased tickets were still given fines due to a lack of available bays in the area.
Parking officers were within their rights to fine motorists who had parked in a way that disobeyed council regulations, but those attending the charity event felt they should have shown more leniency.
Some people have even called for the money collected from the fines to be donated to charity.
Emma Smallwood, from Bolton, was given a £50 fine for parking on a grass verge after she went to the event to support a friend.
She told Manchester Evening News: “I intend to pay, but I would like to know that the council has paid all the proceeds to Cancer Research UK. We were all parked neatly, it was all very orderly.
“I had paid £2 to park. There were a number of disabled bays and they were empty. People respected that there was no parking in those bays.
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“The car park was really busy. There were a lot of people there. So many people were parking on grass verges.
“When we came back, there was a ticket on every single car around us."
According to the council, just 11 tickets were issued to event-goers over the weekend.