Woman with £18k of parking fines declared bankrupt

A legal assistant from Aberdeen has been declared insolvent after running up over £18,000 of unpaid parking fines in the short space of a year.

27 year-old Claire Williams regularly left her VW Beetle in metered spaces near her workplace, Lindsay and Kirk solicitors and estate agents, and would walk off without paying.

Ms Williams said that she was experiencing debt problems and couldn’t afford parking, adding: “Parking fines are not at the front of my mind.”

However, Aberdeen City Council, which is also somewhat struggling amidst the prospect of cutting its budget by £120 million over the next five years, took her to court over the unpaid fines and was given the go-ahead to seize her assets and sell them off to settle her bill.

The council weren’t the only ones to be unsympathetic towards Ms Williams’ plight, even parking campaigner Barrie Segal, who dedicates himself to helping drivers appeal against unfair tickets said the situation was hopeless.

“This is extraordinary,” he said, “I think her only option is to throw herself on the council’s mercy.”

At the time her unpaid parking fines were exposed, the indebted Ms Williams commented: “I can’t afford parking – I can’t afford anything.”

She did not appear in court for the ruling and said later that she had “been in meetings” and was not aware that she had been made bankrupt, according to the Daily Record news site.

Last month debt experts said that many people in financial difficulties who are falling into a further debt spiral may be suffering from the ‘ostrich syndrome’.

According to Dr Roger Henderson, senior medical practitioner and stress expert, the plight is common amongst those in debt. He explained: “This is where people choose an out of sight, out of mind approach to their finances where the less you know, the less there is to worry about.”