DRIVERS have been fined for parking on illegal yellow lines near Reigate station – nearly two years after the council vowed to fix the problem.
Last May the Mirror reported how the rogue lines in Holmesdale Road had been identified 12 months earlier by Reigate and Banstead Borough Council as unenforceable – but its wardens had carried on fining motorists regardless.
Residents had long been suspicious of the dodgy-looking markings at the entrance to Prospect Court before a council letter finally confirmed the fines couldn't be enforced.
But, despite the council promising to remove the lines, the temporary paint used to cover them has faded and the lines are once again visible – leading to more fines for confused motorists.
"I'm very upset with the council," said Richard King, who owns Reigate Hill Auto Repairs on Reigate Hill. "When I explained to them that the lines were supposed to be burnt off they said if we've got a problem we should just appeal again. They make it sound like it's our problem. They said they would black them out and then take them out – but they've never taken them out."
Mr King, who saw the lines being painted on the road at the time, added: "The council was completely uninterested. There was another car – a black Honda – that got ticketed and I don't know if they're aware it's an illegal ticket."
Business consultant Colette Barber added: "The wardens aren't educated what the lines are in the first place. It's just despicable. They promised to do something and they didn't."
A spokesman for Dorking company White and Sons, which manages the property, said he had no knowledge of the lines, adding that a lot of the buildings managed by the company had their own directors.
He said the issue would be looked into.
Nic Martlew, head of neighbourhood services at Reigate and Banstead Borough Council, said: "The blackout paint covering the illegal yellow lines is starting to wear away so we are arranging to have them blacked out again. We will remind our civil enforcement officers not to issue tickets in this location and the two tickets issued will be cancelled."
