IT has taken six months and almost a dozen letters but a Hampshire couple who were convinced they had been wrongly given a parking ticket have finally won their battle.

Simon and Samantha Burwood were landed with the ticket after parking in the Tower Street multi-storey car park in Winchester in April.

The couple left their car in a space near the exit that they thought was still in use.

However Winchester City Council had actually de-commissioned the space, along with an adjoining one, and had painted over their white bay markings with grey paint.

Simon, 31, a TV cameraman and Samantha, 29, a shop assistant, then looked at other car parks in the city and realised that other de-commissioned spaces had clearly been crossed out using yellow painted hatchings, not just grey paint, and so decided to appeal.

Although the city council refused to cancel the ticket, last week the National Parking Adjudicator Service (NPAS) sided with the Burwoods and forced the authority to cancel its £60 fine.

In coming to its decision the adjudicator service said: "The lines were still clearly visible and were capable of misleading."

Wasted time Now the couple from Badger Farm in Winchester, who have two daughters aged five and 11, say they just wished they had not had to waste so much time and effort getting the ticket thrown out.

Simon said: "What annoys me most about this is the complete waste of our time and money this whole saga took.

"We told the council that had we genuinely realised the space was no longer in use we just wouldn't have parked in it - there were loads of free ones at the time.

"But they just refused to be reasonable and we are delighted the ombudsman has now agreed with us.

"We just hope they now agree to pay back the fine to the other driver who parked in the bay next to us and who has already paid up, because I'm sure they must have made a lot of money out of fines from these spaces."

A spokesman for the city council said it had no plans to repay the money to the other driver because he had admitted his mistake, but he added the authority would now make the de-commissioned spaces clearer.

The spokeswoman added: "Our officers have been looking at the site and will be adding no-waiting signs and yellow painted hatchings to the area.

"With regards to the other man who also received a ticket, he has admitted liability and already paid his fine which will not be reimbursed."