A student who was hit with a penalty charge after stopping to allow pedestrians to use a zebra crossing has won an appeal against the notice.

Callum Stocker, a 21-year-old environmental sciences student at the University of East Anglia, was alarmed when he was hit with a £100 penalty notice after dropping his girlfriend off at the Bob Champion Centre near the Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital.

The student, from Wellingborough, near Northampton, says he spotted some pedestrians approaching the zebra crossing on James Watson Road so stopped, also allowing his passenger to jump out while they crossed.

However, the road is privately owned and has a strict no stopping policy, which is enforced by National Parking Enforcement Ltd.

A few weeks after the incident, which happened on January 17, his mother Linda received a parking penalty notice containing a £100 invoice from NPE, stating he had stopped in a no stopping zone.

However, after the family appealed to the Independent Appeals Service (IAS) the charge has been overturned, with the adjudicator ruling in favour of Mr Stocker.

Mr Stocker said: "I was quite surprised [to win the appeal] if I'm honest. After appealing more than once I think somebody finally saw sense in it.

"I didn't really expect that to happen seeing as it has been a while since it all happened."

The parking enforcers, however, have said they will themselves appeal the decision of the IAS, as they have questioned the evidence given to them.

A spokesman said: "We will be speaking to the appeals service because our evidence shows that the driver stopped eight seconds before the pedestrians reached the crossing. This case is not over yet."

Mr Stocker previously did not dispute that the pedestrians were not on the crossing when he stopped, but said that he had seen them approach so slowed in anticipation.

He said: "I know I'm young but I have been driving long enough to know that you have to stop at a zebra crossing and be aware when you see people close to the road in case they step out."

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