Man jailed for using fake parking permit

A Portsmouth man who forged a residents parking permit has been jailed for 16 weeks - it's thought to be the first prison sentence to be given in such a case in Britain.

48 year-old Mark Rouse, of Wilton Terrace, Southsea was given a temporary parking permit by Portsmouth City Council when he moved into the street.

When this ran out he did not qualify for a permanent permit because the car he drove was not registered in his name. Rather than buy visitor permits to allow him to continue to park, he faked a permanent permit on a computer, using the expired temporary one. But the fake permit was spotted on the car by a parking officer on patrol.

He admitted using the counterfeit permit for up to six months and pleaded guilty to one offence under the Fraud Act 2006, and one under the Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984.