A local authority has been found “at fault” in revoking residents’ parking permits after 20 years.

Richard Payne won his case against Medway Council after it was decided he had been treated unfairly.

For two decades, the pensioner, who lives in Florence Street, Strood, has purchased a yearly parking permit which allows him to leave his car within his postcode area.

This is due to the “narrow” and “unmade” conditions of the backstreet road outside his home which leaves little room for parking for residents in the 16 homes there.

In December, KentOnline reported how people had been sent letters from the council informing them they would no longer be able to purchase passes due to the address being a private road. It also said they should never have been entitled.

But this had gone unnoticed for 20 years due to a “human error” which had only been picked up on following a recent audit.

Richard said the U-turn had left him “stranded” and with “no choice but to break the law” by parking his car illegally where it has always been left.

But following an investigation, the Local Government Ombudsman, found the 72-year-old was eligible all along.

He said: “The findings were that they [the council] originally said it was an audit error.

“Then they said it was a computer update that had removed Florence Street from the scheme in error and then it transpired that an officer overlooked the traffic regulation order which confirmed that my street was within the controlled parking zone.”

An agreement has been reached between all parties that Richard will be compensated £100 for the issues caused, and the council must issue residents affected with a parking permit free of charge for one year.

However, Richard says despite winning his case he does not consider it a victory.

He said: “I don’t feel any satisfaction really, the tone of the letters and the dismissive way I was treated was just a shame.

“There was no effort at all to resolve it.”

He also says Medway found itself with “a whole load of work” that has cost the taxpayer a lot of money.

“I’m not triumphant about this, I don’t want to hold banners up – it’s just a lesson for any council that you really need to do your homework before you start chucking your weight around - which is what they were doing,” he added.

Richard’s permit ended in April, leaving him without a place to park his car for months while the situation remained unresolved.

He said: “It had proved impossible because the only place I could find to park was a road near me which is on a hill.”

But because his wife could not walk there, he often had to bring the vehicle round to the road opposite his house so she could get in.

On a couple of occasions he had to leave the vehicle on a friend’s drive when he could not find anywhere else to park.

He added: “It was constantly moving and it became a complete drain.”

A Medway Council spokesperson said: “Due to an administrative error, eligibility for a residential parking permit was incorrectly revoked and a complaint was upheld by the Local Government Ombudsman.

“As a result, we have compensated the resident and provided an annual residential parking permit free of charge.

“We would like to offer our sincere apologies for the error and the inconvenience and distress this has caused.”