A HOSPITAL porter was slapped with a parking fine by The Range - for driving past the store on his way to work.

John Peden unwittingly found himself clocked by the cameras on the road outside the West Shaw Street premises.

He was stunned when he was sent a £100 parking charge notice by their car park enforcers, who claimed he'd left his vehicle there for a full DAY.

The former soldier told the Tele he drove past as he was visiting his elderly mum, who lives nearby, before making his way to Inverclyde Royal to start his shift.

He fears others who are wrongly accused could end up paying up.

John, 55, from Greenock, said: "It is outrageous and is an absolute scam.

"I have never even been in the car park, never mind put my car in there for 24 hours.

"I wonder how many more people has this happened to.

"I want to highlight this because I don't want an older person to get caught out and pay the fine.

"Sometimes people get these notices and just pay them.

"I had been speaking to friends and work colleagues and decided I had to do something about it."

Enforcers ParkingEye, who are based in Blyth, Northumberland and act on behalf of The Range, sent a notice to John claiming he had parked his Audi A1 Sport at the store on Thursday September 10 at 14.33pm and didn't return until a day later at 12.12pm.

John, who has worked in the hospital for 10 years, added: "I was on my way to work that day.

"I was visiting my mum who is 83-years-old in East Shaw Street before going to start work in the hospital."

The notice sent to John, issued 11 days later, warned him he would have to pay £100 unless he paid £60 within seven days.

Parking Eye gave him a number of options to pay his fine for the claimed-21 hour stay.

The Range opened in the former Homebase store in June.

They moved into the town centre site following the closure of the former DIY store two years ago.

After the Tele contacted ParkingEye and drew their attention to John's case, they decided to drop the fine.

A ParkingEye spokesperson said: "Motorists are able to appeal any PCN issued via our BPA (British Parking Association) audited appeals process. "On this occasion however the motorist did not appeal their PCN, however upon reviewing the case the PCN has now been cancelled and a letter informing the motorist of this will be sent in due course."