A man stung with a £100 parking fine for entering the wrong registration number claims that a parking company is "conning" people and driving trade away from Falmouth.

Mark Webber was first fined £60 by Premier Park after using Maritime Car Park in Falmouth.

The company told him that he had 14 days to pay it before it increased to £100.

He decided instead to appeal the fine with Parking on Private Land Appeals (POPLA).

POPLA found in favour of the parking company and in their correspondence with Mark made their own typing error - referring to him as "she" and quoting a different incorrect registration number.

When contacted by the Packet, a spokesperson for the appeals service said: "POPLA apologises to Mr Webber for any error in its communication to him."

Mr Webber says that the company's tactics are "unfair," adding: "I know I typed it wrong, I hold my hands up, but does that justify a £100 fine?

"If you pay within 14 days you pay 60 quid. If you appeal you lose the right to pay the £60."

He says that he is no longer inclined to shop in Falmouth after the incident.

"I'm not a big consumer but if car parks are operating like that in Falmouth is it driving trade away from the town?

"Next time I need a tin of paint I'm going to B&Q in Penryn, a big multi-national company, not a local business like Trago."

Premier Park did not address Mr Webber's accusations of unfairness.

A spokesperson said in a statement: “A PCN was issued to Mr Webber’s vehicle at The Maritime Car Park, Falmouth in February as the vehicle was on site for 40 minutes and there were no payments for his vehicle registration to cover the stay. We subsequentially [sic] received an appeal from Mr Webber, in which he stated he had paid for a parking ticket, but for a different vehicle registration to his own.

"We reviewed all of our own and the submitted evidence. This resulted in the appeal being rejected as there was no payment matching his vehicle. The driver then appealed to POPLA (Parking on Private Land Appeals) who independently consider the evidence from both parties and decide an outcome. In this case, POPLA found in Premier Parks favour and the PCN was paid in full in May.”