Security firm G4S fell foul of Perth traffic wardens after repeatedly blocking disabled spaces at a Tayside court, it has emerged.
The Courier yesterday revealed how the company has run up hundreds of pounds worth of parking tickets since its custody van began to stop illegally outside Perth Sheriff Court while dropping off and picking up prisoners.
G4S said an agreement with the local authority to use a pay-and-display site behind the court building had “lapsed”, forcing it to use a pavement near the South Street side entrance.
Now a source at the court has revealed that the company came under pressure to move its van out of the car park, after repeated complaints about it taking over and blocking access to disabled parking bays.
Perth and Kinross Council was urged to take action against the company by a local solicitor.
He took photographs of vans using the disabled area, sometimes blocking off four bays at a time.
“Over the past couple of years, I have chased G4S head office about this,” he said.
“I was promised it will ‘never happen again’ yet it did repeatedly.”
The solicitor, who asked not to be named, said G4S staff regularly parked up in disability parking zones after dropping off custodies, sometimes leaving the vehicle unattended for hours at a time.
It is understood G4S agreed to stop once Perth and Kinross Council got involved.
A G4S spokesman declined to comment. On Tuesday, the firm confirmed it was in talks with the local authority about regaining dispensation to park at the rear entrance.
Prisoner escorting operations director Willie Galloway said the van needed to park as close to the side door as possible to ensure the safety of its staff and prisoners.
Last year, the company was reprimanded by a judge after running up huge parking fines and trying to use them to cut its tax bill.
The firm claimed parking fines were a legitimate business expense.
