YOUR recent correspondents who were annoyed after being fined for parking at Leg O' Mutton would be well advised to look at the website appealnow.com

According to the Guardian, the country's leading parking ticket expert, Barrie Segal, clarifies on the website that any fixed penalty a private company wishes to impose is redress for breach of contract, which is enforceable only by a court. The company would have to successfully sue the motorist, and some courts have ruled that such penalties are not fair.

In fact, firms rarely go to court, as the cost will outweigh the return. This is worth bearing in mind next time you are faced with a 'penalty'.

I do endorse what June Pearton said (February 9) about the cars now parked on the main road creating a traffic hazard. When I had to squeeze past a car badly parked opposite the newly created pavement jutting out for cyclists and I clipped a protruding broken kerb, I incurred a £100 bill for a new tyre.

Devon Highways said they saw nothing wrong with the  road layout —but they did repair the kerb shortly afterwards. 

Don Brown

Yelverton