A MAN in dispute with parking officials over a ticket issued five months ago woke up to discover his car had been clamped outside his house.

Father-of-one Paul Abbott, 39, of Apple Tree Way, Oswaldtwistle, was incensed after having to pay nearly £500 to get his car unclamped just days before Christmas.

The action was prompted by Mr Abbott's failure to pay a £60 parking fine he received in July when his car was parked on a car park in Edisford Road, Clitheroe.

Mr Abbott claimed that the pay and display signs were obscured on the day he got the ticket, a claim that Ribble Valley Council - which is responsible for the car park - has denied.

Mr Abbott, an occupational health nurse in Bolton, said: "I got the ticket after taking my little lad to the fairground at Edisford.

"He was so excited that we just went straight to the fairground and when we got back I found that I had a parking fine.

"The thing is, the parking sign was covered by a flyer for the fair and I had no knowledge that this was a pay and display car park."

Mr Abbott said he had written to Ribble Valley Council in wake of the initial fine and claimed he was given no warning that the bailiffs were set to clamp the vehicle.

He said: "I had to pay £480 for it to be removed and had to ring round my family to get this paid for.

"We have everything planned for Christmas and have been landed with a bill like this, it's disappointing."

Ribble Valley Council said he had been given plenty of time to pay the fine and avoid the hefty fee to get his car back on the road.

A spokesman for the council said: "This particular motorist received letters offering him the opportunity to resolve the matter, before it was placed in the hands of bailiffs.

"We do not accept his argument that the pay-and-display sign at Edisford car park was obscured by a fairground advertisement.

"There are several signs at the car park, which our evidence shows were clearly visible.

"Our records also show that bailiffs wrote to him twice and visited him twice before his car was clamped."