Thousands of parking fines could be refunded in West Yorkshire, after the police admitted 16,000 tickets had been issued in error.
A review conducted by West Yorkshire Police in March revealed that some Police Community Support Officers (PCSOs) had not been granted the power to issue Fixed Penalty Notices for parking offences.
The mistake – which could go back as far as 2003 – could see more than £485,000 returned to motorists.
West Yorkshire Police said the error does not affect current staff who had joined as traffic wardens before transferring into the force to become PSCOs.
A statement from the police said: ‘We would like to emphasise that no PCSOs knowingly acted beyond their powers and they believed, as did the force at that time, that they were acting correctly.
’We want to reassure the public that this issue was addressed as soon as it came to light.
’Clearly this is a very complex issue and we are working through a process with HM Courts & Tribunals Service to establish how to resolve matters regarding affected motorists.’
A review will decide if motorists will entitled to a refund for the tickets and how this will be handled.
