Man Says He Would Rather Go To Prison Than Pay £8 Of Parking Fine

A driver has refused to pay his parking fine and has instead stated he'd rather go to jail.

On 9 October 2021, carpet shop owner Neil Dubnyckyj from Scunthorpe visited Skegness for his 65th birthday, accompanied by his grandson.

The pair stayed the night on the East Coast in a motorhome. However, Dubnyckyj was slapped with a £35 fine when he briefly parked in an illegal spot.

Despite admitting he was wrong for parking where he did, the 65-year-old has argued he shouldn't be required to pay the full fine.

Dubnyckyj told Lincolnshire Live he and his grandson arrived in Skegness at 'around noon' but soon 'started to get hungry'.

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He continued: "We could not find anywhere to park [at first] so we parked on this wasteland area, and I paid £8 [on the pay and display].

"We went out and had lunch and came back and got a £35 fine - which was fine, I had made a mistake."

Dubnyckyj has insisted that because he paid £8 at pay and display for the spot, that it should be deducted from the £35 fine.

"I paid the £27 difference because they had already had the £8," he argued.

However, the fine has since been doubled by East Lindsey District Council to £70 because of Dubnyckyj's refusal to cough up the additional £8.

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What's more, the grandfather has declared he would rather be sent to prison than pay.

Dubnyckyj resolved: "It has now become a matter of principle. Had I not paid the £8 I still would have got a £35 fine.

"I thought there is no way I will pay it. I will go to court and go to jail before I pay it. They've already had their £8."

Dubnyckyj's refusal has been called 'misconceived' by an adjudicator.

A letter addressed to to the grandfather read: "The payment of £8 he made was for a pay and display ticket for the car park; it was not payment of the penalty charge.

Helen Forth

"Mr D cannot offset the payment for that ticket against the penalty charge, notwithstanding that purchasing the ticket was redundant because he not permitted to park his campervan in the car park.

"He should not have paid the £8 for a pay and display ticket because he was not entitled to park his campervan there. Mr D's mistake does not entitle him to transfer that payment to the penalty charge."

LADbible has contacted Neil Dubnyckyj and East Lindsey District Council for comment.