Driver slapped with £100 fine for pulling over for 26 seconds during sneezing fit

A furious motorist has been slapped with a £100 parking fine but claims he pulled over for just 26 seconds while having a sneezing fit.

Steven Savage says he stopped as he feared causing an accident if he carried on driving while sneezing in on the road in Norwich.

But his Vauxhall Meriva Design hatchback was filmed by a parking enforcement camera while he was stationary for 26 seconds.

Mr Savage, 37, was stunned when he received a letter in the post 10 days later, saying he was being fined £100 for breaching a strict no-parking rule.

The letter told him that his car had stopped in an unauthorised place between 12.09pm and 29 seconds and 12.09pm and 55 seconds on Monday, January 20.

The payment was demanded by National Parking Enforcement Ltd which manages the private road on the Norwich Research Park next to the Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital.

Mr Savage, an electrician from Attleborough, Norfolk, described the fine as "ridiculous", saying he had only stopped for "a matter of seconds and in the interest of safety."

He said: "When you're having a sneezing fit, the wise thing to do is pull over and let it finish.

"You don't feel fully in control when you're sneezing and it is dangerous to drive. I then picked my girlfriend up and thought no more of it."

Mr Savage began sneezing while he was on his way to pick up his girlfriend from the Bob Champion Research and Education building on the research park.

The letter told him that the fine would be reduced to £60 if he paid within two weeks, but he has refused to pay up and is appealing against it.

He said: "To be honest I'm a bit blasé about the fine.

"It is annoying and it does create a bit of stress but these companies don't scare me. I think it is a bit of a scandal that they try and do it in the first place."

"As the road is close to the hospital there could be patients visiting who are briefly dropped off to receive treatment and then suddenly slapped with a huge fine.

"That is really what shocked me the most and I think it is outrageous."

He added: "I know lots of people who have been fined for waiting for a few seconds and it is just unfair. It is fair enough if it is the council, but companies shouldn't be allowed to get away with it."

A spokesperson for the Norwich Retail Park said that James Watson Way was owned by Bullen Developments, a subsidiary of building firm R G Carter.

National Parking Enforcement Ltd and R G Carter have been contacted for comment.