MOTORISTS have been warned to steer clear of Kings Park after one driver incurred two fines in 22 seconds.

Although Sara Shepherd, 53, has now had her second notice cancelled by the council, she is urging people not to make the same mistake she did after realising at the last-minute she could not drive through the park.

Sara, a nurse at Bournemouth hospital, said: “I thought the park might be open but once I got up Gloucester Road and saw the signs saying only buses could drive up there, I looked for somewhere to turn around.

“There was a car parked on the right, just before the white lines which meant I couldn’t do a u-turn, so I turned into the park and drove 10 metres, turned around and came back.

“In literally 22 seconds of driving I had a £60 fine. When the first notice came through my letterbox this week I contacted the council only to be told there was another one on the way. It arrived that day!”

Gerry Bolland, enforcement and parking manager, said: “The route through Kings Park which is being used while Ashley Road Bridge is rebuilt is strictly a bus and cycle route only.

“Like all motorists who choose to ignore the clear signage and restrictions, Mrs Shepherd was issued with a penalty charge notice of £60 which she has paid. We certainly don’t wish to issue penalties to drivers and would much rather they follow the clearly signposted diversionary routes.

“The second notice issued to Mrs Shepherd on this occasion has been cancelled because it’s clear from the evidence this was one and not two separate incidents.”

Figures supplied by the council last week overstated the number of fines issued up to then. Although 3,269 tickets had been issued, some of these were warning notices.

The number of warning notices and tickets issued now totals 3,703, with 416 of those warning letters.