A SEATON couple have had a parking fine dropped on their third appeal, with the backing of an East Devon district councillor.

A SEATON couple have had a parking fine dropped on their third appeal, with the backing of an East Devon district councillor.

Janet Phillips, 63, and Kevin Rayner, 65, had paid for their residents' permit on time but were fined �25 for failing to display it on their motor home, parked in Orchard Road.

The couple protested against the charge and Cllr Margaret Rogers called for the council to be more flexible.

Cllr Rogers said at the time: "It's actually correct [the issuing of the ticket] but morally high-handed and not good for public relations."

In a letter to the couple, East Devon District Council acknowledged that it received payment before the deadline.

It states it received payment on September 30 and the permit was processed and sent out the next day.

On Thursday, December 10, the couple received a letter to say the fine had been dropped as a 'goodwill gesture.'

Ms Phillips, who owns Panic Design in Marine Place, said: "We are happy and relieved. It just goes to show that if you don't agree with something, then you should fight it."

When Ms Phillips spoke to the Herald on Wednesday last week she said: "I'm furious about it because it's taken up a lot of time on the phone, trying to sort it out. We could do without the hassle."

An EDDC spokesman said the vehicle had been parked for three weeks with neither the old nor the new permit on display, and the parking enforcement officer was unable to see that a valid permit had been issued. He said: "This does not change the fact that a valid permit was not displayed and this in itself is a contravention."

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