Lewisham Council reverses £55,000 LTN fines after motorists were forced to take a diversion

Lewisham Council has reversed £55,000 in LTN fines after major flooding forced motorists to take a diversion through closed roads.

When a burst water main caused chaos in the London Borough, the City Council said they would not penalize anyone forced to take the controversial alternative route.

However, according to The Telegraph, a local resident has forced Lewisham Council to accept that he broke his promise after issuing 421 fines (PCNs) worth £54,730 that day.

Annie Kirby, 51, prompted the Labour-led council to overturn the fines and refund more than £18,000 in payments already received – setting a new record for successful appeals.

The mother-of-three explained that in the early hours of January 6, a water main burst, blocking roads.

When a burst water main caused traffic chaos in Lewisham, south-east London, council leaders said they would not fine anyone who has to take a diversion through a controversial area with little traffic

However, the council broke its promise when it issued 421 fines (PCNs) worth £54,730 that day after people drove through the roads it closed

“Roads within the LTN were pretty much the only ones motorists could use,” she said.

“But whoever drove down it faces a fine because the city government installed automatic license plate recognition cameras to enforce their road closures.”

The council posted on social media at 11am that “PCNs will not be issued to anyone” because the flooding has cornered motorists using the closed roads.

Ms Kirby said she took a screenshot of the tweet just to be sure.

However, the mother soon heard people had still been fined – many paying the reduced rate of £65 to avoid the full fine of £130, unaware of the council’s promise.

In the early hours of January 6, a water main burst, blocking roads

Schoolchildren had to be rescued by firefighters in dinghies after a ruptured water main caused flooding in south-east London

Last week Lewisham bosses apologized and agreed to lift all fines – almost three months after the main pipe burst

“It just wasn’t fair,” Ms. Kirby said. “The Council was wrong in saying one thing and doing the other.”

Eventually, after the dementia worker followed the advice, officials admitted they had issued 421 tickets and collected £18,785 in payments.

“Lewisham Council didn’t seem concerned with how these fines upset people,” Ms Kirby said.

Last week Lewisham bosses apologized and agreed to cancel all PCNs – almost three months after the main pipe burst.

Around 70 firefighters were called to six feet of flooding on Meadowcourt Road and Eltham Road after the pipe burst, with the road giving way to a river.

A Council spokesman said: “As a result of an internal misunderstanding regarding the implementation of this directive, a number of PCNs were erroneously issued on 6 January.

“While many of these PCNs have already been cancelled, we have canceled all outstanding PCNs issued on that date and will refund anyone who has already paid for a PCN incorrectly issued on that date.”

MailOnline has reached out to Lewisham Council for comment.