Council pays back £23,000 in bus lane fines after posting tickets too late

More than £23,000 has been paid back to motorists caught driving in bus lanes after council bosses admitted thousands of tickets were posted out too late.

Legislation states Penalty Charge Notices must arrive in the post within 28 days of a vehicle being recorded in a bus lane.

But Manchester City Council announced in March that it missed the deadline in 23,500 cases because of a computer system error - and invited drivers to submit appeals so refunds could be considered.

The deadline to register to appeal ended on Wednesday and the council said 743 appeals had so far been successful. Bosses said the refund figure repaid currently amounted to around £23,000.

A number of appeal applications are still being processed, meaning the final figure and overall repayment could increase.

A spokesman called situation ‘regrettable’ and committed to reviewing fines on a ‘case-by-case’ basis, as appeals were submitted.