Couple issued 'time-travelling' car park ticket

A couple got a shock when a ticket they were issued at a Hereford car park was dated to expire a quarter of a century ago.

Jeremy Jones and his wife went to pay for £3 worth of parking at the Merton Meadow car park, operated by Herefordshire Council, on Tuesday morning, December 6 – only to be given a ticket valid until 11 am on January 1, 1998.

“Had we travelled back in time?” Mr Jones wondered. “The car park still looked just as full back then.”

However inserting a further £3 into the machine “brought us back into the present” with a regularly time-stamped ticket.

A Herefordshire Council spokesperson said: “We are aware of a very rare isolated malfunction in one of our parking machines, which has been reported to the suppliers who are taking appropriate action.

“It was a fault affecting only one customer and the issue was reported to Parking Services immediately. The customer was offered credit, which they accepted, and we apologise for any inconvenience.”