NSW woman to dispute $603 fine in court claims she was ‘unfairly’ targeted

A NSW woman says she’s the victim of a parking inspector’s “bad intentions”, after she received a staggering fine for a “five-second” act.

A NSW Central Coast woman who was fined $603 after her car was snapped illegally “parked” in a library car park, claims she was “unfairly” charged for a courteous five-second act.

Doria Coral has had her licence for 52 years and says she has never lost a demerit point or received a fine for her driving.

That was until the 70-year-old paid a visit to her local Gosford Library earlier this year, where she was stung for allegedly parking her vehicle unlawfully in a disability space.

Doria Coral claims she did nothing wrong in this photo. Picture: A Current Affair/Channel 9

While photographs clearly show Ms Coral’s car wrongfully positioned in the space, she insists she was only near the car park for “five seconds” as she waited for another car to exit the spot she wanted.

“The car park was full but I could see … an old couple were about to get into their car, so I thought, ‘Okay I’ll get their space’,” she told A Current Affair.

“So I drove down there, and the (male driver) couldn’t manoeuvre out so to give him room I went towards the (disabled) parking spot.”

Ms Coral claims she was ‘unfairly’ issued a fine for her parking. Picture: A Current Affair / Channel 9

The woman claimed she had her car partially in the bay for “five seconds” as she waited for the other driver to leave before taking the newly-available car spot.

During this short time unbeknown to her, a parking inspector allegedly captured a picture of her incorrectly positioned car, with Ms Coral receiving a fine of $603 and one demerit point in the mail three weeks after.

“They sent me the photos, they were taken within five seconds,” she said. “I was shocked.”

When Ms Coral was asked if she had seen the inspector, she insisted she was too busy paying attention to the male driver vacating the car park.

The sun glare makes it difficult to see if anyone was in the car. Picture: A Current Affair/Channel 9

Due to weather conditions and the angle the photo was captured, it’s difficult to tell whether anyone was in the car to begin with.

Ms Coral claims one of the photos captures her hand on the wheel, despite it being difficult to see anything beyond the top of the car’s dash.

In a second photo shot from a different angle that’s closer to the vehicle, the sun’s reflection construes the ability to determine any of the car’s contents aside from the driver’s window.

“If he was right in front of me taking the photos, he would have seen me that I was in the car, engine was running and I was giving way, making space for an elderly couple … so there was bad intention there,” Ms Coral said.

Ms Coral claims she was in the car. Picture: A Current Affair/Channel 9

Central Coast Council begged to differ, with a council spokesperson stating there were no people in the car at the time the photos were taken.

“Council’s parking officer, as evidenced by the attached photographs, confirmed that no person was present in the car and that the car was stopped and parked unlawfully in a disabled parking space,” a council spokesperson said in a statement.

“Given that no person was in the car at this time, council rejects the position that (Ms) Coral was simply reversing and stopped only for a few seconds.”

Consequently, the council rejected Ms Coral’s appeal with the infuriated driver now taking the case to court.

“I’m angry, very angry. It’s so unfair,” she said.