A volunteer could be forced to give up his selfless charity work after the council ‘heartlessly’ rejected his appeal over £400 worth of motor fines.
Retired social worker Graham Miller, of Sherwood Road, South Harrow, was doing his usual volunteer work for Harrow Community Transport in early October when helping a disabled man get to the Byron Park Neighbourhood Resource Centre, in Christchurch Avenue, Wealdstone, when he drove into a bus lane.
That week he used the lane seven times, not knowing that what he was doing was illegal, and was shocked when penalty charge notices landed at his doorstep amounting to £455.
Mr Miller, 64, who used to work for Harrow Council, said: “I accepted right away that I made an error. Is it clearly signposted? No. But did I do something wrong? Yes, and I accept that.
“However, it happened in the duty of doing something out of the goodness of my heart which I’ve been doing for some time now.
"I help vulnerable people get out and about, which helps them and saves the council a lot of money from having to do it themselves.
“So while I accept I did something wrong, I hoped common sense would prevail and that they would understand the circumstances.”
The council rejected Mr Miler’s appeal however, and he will now seek a personal hearing.
He added: “They told me if my personal appeal is not successful, my fine will be doubled to more than £950.
“I cannot afford that, and will have to sell my car to pay it off, the same car I use to volunteer for Harrow Community Transport. They know the circumstances and they are being heartless.”
Many of the people Mr Miller helps have learning disabilities, or are wheelchair users, reliant on volunteers like him to attend social events or doctors appointments.
The row comes as the council proposed £75million worth of cuts, which could see funding for charities reduced and volunteers like Mr Miller become more important than ever.
A spokeswoman for Harrow Council said: “The laws on road restrictions must be enforced consistently, in fairness to all road users.
"No individual can decide not to follow these rules without accepting the penalties associated with the offence."
Mr Miller had previously been fined in the same spot earlier this year, and paid the fine willingly.
The spokeswoman added: "The only vehicles permitted to use this stretch of road are local buses and pedal cycles.
"Unfortunately, the fact that a motorist may be undertaking voluntary work is not sufficient mitigation to cancel penalty charges for breaking the law.”
