A mum-of-two has spoken of her frustration after being hit with parking penalties twice in one day - despite never technically parking.

Megan Edmonds was dropped off at the Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital for an appointment by her husband and picked up two hours later.

Not wanting to cause a disruption in the hospital's own car park, Mrs Edmonds was dropped on a side road neighbouring the site, unaware the road was private.

%image(14427721, type="article-full", alt="Megan Edmonds, who was given two penalty notices for "parking" near the N&N")

And a few weeks later, she was shocked when National Parking Enforcement Ltd wrote to her ordering to pay a £60 penalty charge for "parking" on the road.

After attempting to appeal the notice she reluctantly paid the notice - only to receive a second notice telling her the charge had risen to £120.

And when she queried this, it emerged that this was a second notice, issued for two hours after her first.

Both charges related to July 13, one shortly before 2pm, a stop of three minutes, while the second was for around 4pm and lasted less than two minutes.

%image(14427722, type="article-full", alt="Norfolk and Norwich Hospital April 2020 Pictures: BRITTANY WOODMAN")

The 29-year-old from Bradwell said: "I had no idea we could not stop there and both times my husband never actually left the car - the signs were not clear.

"It's just so disrespectful of the company to fine people when they are visiting the hospital, which most people who go there would be. It's awful.

"I admit it was a mistake but also feel the signage really should have been clearer."

Mrs Edmonds, a health care worker with two sons, three-year-old Teddy and nine-month-old Rex, is not the first person to be snared in the same road near the hospital.

In January 2020, a man was given a notice for stopping for just 26 seconds to have a sneezing fit, while a month later a student was penalised for stopping to allow a pedestrian to cross the road - and won his appeal against the notice.

An NPE spokesperson said: "The vehicle was stopped on a restricted roadway where stopping is not permitted for any amount of time.

"Mrs Edmonds has been given the information to further her appeal to the IAS (Independent Appeals Service) if she is unhappy with our decision to reject her appeal."