Toll bridge fine issued to driver 270 miles away

Image caption, The Warburton Toll Bridge crosses the Manchester Ship Canal By Kaleigh Watterson Cheshire political reporter Published 3 hours ago A driver said he was left "perturbed" after receiving a fine for crossing a toll bridge more than 270 miles from his home despite insisting he had never been near it. Graham Parsons, from Plymouth, Devon, received an unpaid toll charge for using the Warburton Toll Bridge, which links Cheshire and Greater Manchester. His case is one of a number raised by motorists who have complained about the bridge's payment and enforcement system. Peel Ports said there had been "some genuine customer experience issues", but the evidence did "not indicate a systemic failure of the system". Image caption, Graham Parsons received a charge - despite living more than 270 miles away from the bridge The bridge previously cost 12p a crossing, but the charge was increased to £1 following refurbishment works in recent years . Manned toll booths were removed and replaced with an automatic number plate recognition (ANPR) camera system. Mr Parsons told BBC Politics North West he received an unpaid toll charge in early June for a crossing in March. "I put my Sherlock Holmes hat on because I didn't realise that I'd ever been near the bridge," he said. "And in fact, I had never been near the bridge because it's 271 miles from where I live. So I was quite perturbed and annoyed." He appealed and discovered the camera had misread his registration plate, which differed by one character from the vehicle photographed. Two weeks later, he received a second letter relating to another crossing in April. Mr Parsons then submitted a subject access request to parking operator Excel Parking, after which the charges were cancelled. He said he was "lucky" to know what steps to take and highlighted that a Facebook group where others had been through similar experiences with the bridge had helped him. "I thought 'this is bad, I need to get it resolved' but I have a lot more sympathy for local people that have to cross that bridge on multiple occasions," he said. He also raised concerns about his personal information being released by the DVLA. The DVLA said it was "sorry for any distress caused". "In this case, the company that requested the information has confirmed the notices were issued in error and has cancelled the charges," a spokesperson said. Image caption, Russell Barton said he would be willing to go to court to fight the charges Russell Barton, from Lowton, often makes one-way journeys across the bridge, visiting his elderly parents on his way home from work. He received an unpaid toll charge in June for a crossing in March despite having paid the charge. "Luckily I don't often delete emails, and sure enough there's the receipt that I paid the £1 crossing on the day they say I didn't," he said. He said the system was "not fit for purpose". "I appreciate they spent a lot of money on the bridge and that needs to be paid for somehow," he s