Latest news with #LythamStAnnes
Yahoo
27-05-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
Bolton man's plea to council after they 'unfairly fine' him and his disabled wife
A Bolton man says he's been fined unfairly after parking in a disabled spot while on a seaside day out. James Abercrombie, 48, was in Lytham St Annes with his wife Rachel,46, who has fibromyalgia and uses a wheelchair, for a visit to a food festival. Mr Abercrombie, who lives in Deane, says that when the couple, who have a blue badge on their car, arrived at the resort's council-operated St Pauls Avenue car park, he pulled into a disabled bay, meaning that, according to the council's rule he did not have to pay for a ticket. To his surprise, though, a few days after he returned home from their day trip, he received a parking ticket and was ordered to pay £25, with a letter claiming that he was parked in a non-disabled bay. Read more: Read more: Private car park rule change to reduce fines for UK drivers Read more: 8,000 parking fines issued at Bolton Market car park (Image: Supplied) Mr Abercrombie says the pictures attached to the letter show his Skoda is parked in a disabled bay with hatched markings visible to the side of the car. A picture of Mr Abercrombie's Skoda parked up on the day he visited (Image: Supplied) "Either Fylde Council are blind and can't see I'm parked in a disabled bay, or they have just thought they'll have a stab at taking my money," the 48-year-old said. The couple have been fined an initial £25 for the ticket, which Mr Abercrombie hasn't paid and is disputing, but this will rise to £50 if not paid by May 28. St Pauls Avenue Car Park (Credit: Google Maps)He added: "We'd just come to Lytham for a food festival, and this has happened. "My wife has suffered with cancer and has fibromyalgia, so I push her around on a wheelchair, we just wanted to meet some friends and have a coffee. "You'd think Fylde would want to welcome disabled people for a more diverse audience, but clearly not. Mr Abercrombe says he parked in the middle spot marked with a wheelchair (Image: Supplied) "I could have parked on the double yellows, as we have the right to with a disabled badge, but that would inconvenience other drivers." Mr Abercrombie added: "If we have parked in a non-disabled bay, then it certainly wasn't clearly marked, and if so, why are there only two disabled bays if that's the case?" Fylde Council has been contacted, but has chosen not to comment. Their website states: "If you park in a designated disabled bay [with a blue badge] you can park free of charge for up to 3 hours." The Bolton man says that they were not parked for longer than three hours, and a letter from Fylde Council suggests they believe he parked in a non-disabled bay.
BBC News
10-05-2025
- General
- BBC News
Lancashire woman finds rare venomous centipede in flat
A young woman has spoken of her shock after finding a venomous centipede in her Armour said she spotted the "strange creature" on her kitchen wall after she returned from a late shift at 19-year-old later found the many-legged minibeast was a rare Scutigera coleoptrata, which uses venom to kill its prey but is not harmful to humans."I had never seen anything like it before. After asking my co-workers, we figured out it was a house centipede," she said. Steve Gregory, who runs the British Myriapod and Isopod Group's recording scheme, said the Scutigera coleoptrata was commonly known as the house said the species originates from the Mediterranean and, at present, can only survive our cold winters inside Gregory said sightings of the insect, which uses its venom to subdue and feed on flies and spiders, are becoming more common in Britain. He added that people who end up unintentionally hosing one do not not need to worry as they are not dangerous to humans."Although once very rare, it is expanding its range, possibly due to climate change," he said."There were only three known sightings up to 1990, about 30 sighting between 1990 and 2020, and in 2024 there were over triple this number. "These are mostly from southern England, but in recent years it has been seen as far north as Lancashire and Yorkshire."Ms Armour, who moved to Lytham St Annes from Scotland two years ago, said she enlisted a brave colleague to help her catch the creature and released it."From what I've learned, house centipedes are harmless and actually beneficial because they prey on other household pests," she said. Listen to the best of BBC Radio Lancashire on Sounds and follow BBC Lancashire on Facebook, X and Instagram. You can also send story ideas via Whatsapp to 0808 100 2230.
