A woman has been ordered by a sheriff to pay a private parking company £24,500 in unpaid charges.

Carly Mackie ignored hundreds of parking tickets for leaving her car at Dundee's Waterfront without a permit, claiming they were unenforceable. Ms Mackie said that she had a right to park in the area as she was living there at the time. Sheriff George Way said the charges were from a "valid contract" and she was liable for them. Vehicle Control Services (VCS) took the 28-year-old to court last year after she failed to pay £18,500 in private parking notices. She had been living at a flat with her stepfather, who was a tenant and had a garage at the property. Sheriff Way said Ms Mackie had parked outside the garage and would not accept the offer of a parking permit for a space nearby for £40 per month.

'Entirely misdirected'

In a written judgement, Sheriff Way said: "She admits she parked without a permit, on the property that the pursuers were contracted to protect."She had no better right or title to do so than any other interloper or stranger no matter what her belief might be."....Read more here