Parking ticket bill for couple in birth drama

Published: 23 April 2010
by RÓISÍN GADELRAB

WHEN Whittington Hospital doctors told pregnant mother-of-two Sarah Hoffman her baby’s heart had stopped and she needed an emergency operation, her husband remained by her side until she was rushed into theatre.

As a result he was six minutes late in returning to his parked car – and a ticket. But he expected Islington Council’s parking department to be lenient in the circumstances.

Yet a year on, Solo­mon Hoffman and his wife, who now have a healthy baby girl Libby, are still battling parking chiefs over the ticket, have been forced to hand over £580 to bailiffs and are facing demands for an extra £355.

Mrs Hoffman said she appealed against the ticket months ago, sent a copy of Libby’s birth certificate as well as proof of the time and date of birth from the hospital and believed the council was investigating her case.

But in February bailiffs turned up, clamped her husband’s car and demanded cash.

Mr Hoffman needs the car for work so the couple paid the fee. Then three weeks later, they received another letter asking for more money.

Mrs Hoffman said: “All this harassment and heartache is really getting me down. 

“I live in Tottenham but I went to the Whittington because I had my second daughter there and the service was really great,” she said. “My husband drove. The hospital put me on a monitor and my husband went to call the rabbi. While he was outside, the monitor started ringing and the nurses came in and said the baby had no heartbeat and I needed a caesarian section.”

Mr Hoffman remained with his wife until she was taken into theatre, then ran out to add money to the parking meter, but he was  too late.

The council says it never received Mrs Hoffman’s documents and is now urging her to send them again.

Mrs Hoffman said: “The council haven’t been understanding the whole way through. I spoke to someone who said they would look into it. I thought they were just taking a very long time. Then one morning in February, my husband’s car was clamped.

“They’ve got so much money from me. The whole thing is just causing me so much stress.”

A council spokesman said: “We don’t wish to issue tickets unfairly and would have been happy to cancel this ticket at an early stage had we received appeal evidence – like a hospital letter.

“For whatever reason, no appeals have been received until recently. Written correspondence was never received and Ms Hoffman was unable to provide a copy of an email she says she sent.

“We are keen to resolve this matter. So even at this very late stage we urge Ms Hoffman to provide all evidence as soon as possible.”