British expat surprised by $272 beach parking fine

The British expat explained he had “literally never heard” of the Australian parking rule that left him with a hefty fine.

A British expat has been caught by surprise after an “little known” Aussie road rule landed him with a hefty $272 parking fine.

The man, who recently moved to Sydney from the UK, said he went for a swim at a beach on the NSW south coast last week and was thankful to nab a free parking spot close by.

However, when he returned to his car he was met with an annoying surprise on his windscreen.

“Parked at the beach all day, checked where we parked and it didn’t say anything about no parking, come back and I’ve got a ticket,” he said in a TikTok.

The man asked locals to explain why he was in the wrong; however, when the camera panned to reveal his carpark, many Australians became clued into the error.

The man’s Suzuki was parked facing the wrong way.

While the error may seem obvious to Australian drivers, the man explained he was unfamiliar with the rule.

A British expat has been fined $272 for parking the wrong way.

“I’ve literally never heard of it, in the UK you can pretty much park how you want as long as you’re allowed to park there,” he said.

“I suppose it does make sense though!”

However, while the driver comes to terms with his error, another road rule he has broken becomes clear in the footage.

His car is parked next to a fire hydrant, which is a fineable offence if access to the hydrant is blocked by a car.

Across Australia, it is illegal to park within 1m of a fire hydrant to ensure emergency services can access the hydrant if needed.

Meanwhile, the man explained that the local council had left a notice on his windscreen and a fine was set to be mailed to him by Revenue NSW.

“So just a little tip if you’re coming to Australia and you do rent a car, this has probably cost me 100 quid,” he said.

Across the UK, however, it is legal to park against the flow of traffic during the day.

But as the sun goes down, it then becomes a fineable offence.

Enforcement on the rule in the UK is understood to be less strict.

According to NSW Roads and Maritime, each council decides the exact amount of the fine, but the average cost across NSW is $136.

Stopping near a fire hydrant carries the same penalty in NSW.