A MOTORIST who fell foul of Dorchester’s divided parking system wants to stop other drivers from making the same mistake.

Lorraine Merry, from Martinstown, received a £25 fine when she put a ticket from a wrong machine on her vehicle after parking by the side of the road in Weymouth Avenue.

The machine she used was a matter of metres away from her in a nearby car park regulated West Dorset District Council.

However, on-street parking is regulated by Dorset County Council and she was issued with a ticket.

Miss Merry, who had made an effort to pay, albeit using the wrong machine, had her appeal against the fine dismissed. She now wants to highlight the issue so others don’t face the same situation.

She said: “I was parked in Weymouth Avenue by Duke’s auctioneers and the nearest ticket machine to me was through the gateway in the car park so I got a ticket from there and put it on the van.

“I was given a parking ticket because I had got it from the wrong machine and I appealed against it.

“I’ve just had a letter back saying I’ve still got to pay and it’s my fault because I got it from the wrong machine.”

Miss Merry, 49, said she wants to make other people aware of what happened to her so they don’t make the same error.

She said: “I just hope nobody else makes the same mistake.

“I knew there were parking meters on the street but I saw the other one was closest and I thought they were all the same.”

A Dorset County Council spokesman said: “Miss Merry parked her vehicle on the street in Weymouth Avenue.

“Unfortunately, she did not purchase a Pay and Display ticket from the ticket machine situated on the pavement alongside the parking bay.

“There is a ‘Pay at Meter’ sign at each end of the parking bay with an arrow pointing to the ticket machine and a third sign next to the machine.

“Restrictions and tariffs for parking on street are different from those in car parks.

“Pay and display tickets are not transferable and the ticket Miss Merry purchased from Lower Fairfield Car Park and was therefore not valid in Weymouth Avenue.”