Feltham motorist hit by £330 parking fine

She received a fine in the post for stopping at the bus stand on October 10 and immediately stopped using it, but by then she had already racked up another two fines for stopping there on October 13 and 14.

She said: "I didn't realise you couldn't stop there and the signs aren't very clear. One is partly hidden by a tree and one you can't see if you come in from the other direction, so I really didn't know.

"If I'd got one fine, I would have realised my mistake and just paid it, but I got one after another.

"I asked the council if I could just pay one because it was just before Christmas and I couldn't afford to pay £165."

Mrs McGovern, who lives in Feltham, said the council did not respond to her request so she decided to appeal to the Parking and Traffic Appeals Service.

The appeal failed and Debbie was told this week she must now pay £330 within 28 days or the fine will be increased by a further 50 per cent.

She said: "It's just ridiculous. I can't afford to pay it and I can't afford for it be increased. Now I'm panicking as well that if I don't pay it, they'll send the bailiffs round."

She is not the only person to be hit in the pocket for stopping at the bus stand, with a Freedom of Information request last November revealing that Hounslow Council received more than £340,000 in fines in just over a year.

According to local Liberal Democrat campaigner Jin Jhooti, the authority is waiting to collect another £68,000 in unpaid fines.

Mr Jhooti has been campaigning for the bus stand to be turned into a pick-up and drop-off point and backed Mrs McGovern's claim the signs are insufficient.

He said: "I think it should be a designated drop-off area where all cars are given a three-minute grace period to allow drivers to drop off elderly people, children and people with suitcases.

"It's a real earner for the council and it's in their interest not to have it as a drop-off point - at the moment they're ripping off local residents."

A council spokesman said: "We cannot discuss the details of this specific case beyond acknowledging that the individual has exercised their appeal rights, and the adjudicator refused their appeals.

"We do have a duty to enforce parking restrictions, and the Highway Code says, 'Do not stop or park at or near a bus stop'."