I accidentally drove into a bus lane while grieving my daughter's death - now I'm being hounded by bailiffs

In a state of shock, the 77-year-old accidentally drove into a bus lane in Manchester when she saw a woman bearing a striking resemblance to her late child. Now she says she’s being ‘hounded’ by bailiffs for a £409 fine she can’t afford to pay.

Barbara’s ordeal started when she went to drop her granddaughter off at her part-time job, just months after her mother – and Barbara’s daughter – passed away having been diagnosed with stage four colon cancer.

“They were very, very close. I took it badly, but she took it even worse,” she said. “We were driving and this lady stepped out in front of the car and then turned around, chatting to this chap. She was the absolute doppelganger of my daughter.

“I was in shock – I couldn’t take it in. She had the same hair, the same coat, it was like she was there. My granddaughter went absolutely hysterical. She started having a panic attack in the car.”

Barbara said she wasn’t sure what to do and ‘just had to get away’. “I must have driven into the bus lane – it was accidental,” she added. “I’ve got a clean driving licence, I’ve been driving 52 years. But I was in shock, I don’t know what happened.”

A few weeks later, she received a letter from Manchester council with a £60 bus fine – reduced to £30 if paid in the first 14 days. It’s now up to £409. “I don’t have the money to pay,” Barbara said. “I’m really, really struggling. I’m barely eating.”

She added that she has struggled to fight her corner, in large part because of her bereavements. “With grief, you know, nothing else matters. You just live from one hour to the next. It’s like depression,” Barbara added.

But she has also found the processes difficult, with many relying on online forms which Barbara struggles to access on her phone. In one case, she drove to Northampton County Court, where her case was being processed, to collect documents just so she could file an appeal.

The two appeals she did manage to lodge were unsuccessful. As Barbara and her granddaughter grappled with the darkest of their losses and a mountain of debt to pay off the funerals, her bus fine was escalated to an enforcement agency.

“It’s now gotten to the stage where bailiffs are threatening to take the furniture. They’re hounding me. They want £409,” Barbara said. “I’m out of my mind with it – I haven’t got it. I just haven’t got that kind of money.”

The 77-year-old is still paying off a £6,700 bill for her daughter’s funeral. She says she was ‘grateful’ for receiving a £3,400 bereavement fund, but ‘still owes a lot of money’.

She said: “I’m not sleeping. I can’t put my heating on and winter’s coming. We really are struggling to pay this money. They offered for me to pay instalments but that doesn’t help me. Instalments out of what? I can’t offer them what I don’t have.”

Manchester council said they have put her parking fine (PCN) ‘on hold’. Barbara says she’s receiving regular texts and letters threatening visits to her home by an enforcement agency.

“I wrote to Manchester City Council and I pleaded with them to cancel this ticket,” she said. “I didn’t do it deliberately. I don’t make a habit of driving on bus lanes or breaking the law. I value my licence. I’m disabled, I really depend on the car. It’s the only independence I have. You think somebody would have a bit of compassion. It’s just been horrendous for us.”

A spokesperson for Manchester City Council said: “Firstly, the council would like to extend its sincere sympathies for the loss Mrs Edwards has experienced.

“Since July of 2023 the Council has made numerous and repeated attempts to reach a solution with Mrs Edwards, placing her PCN on hold on three separate occasions, offering a discounted rate as well as a payment plan. Unfortunately, these attempts have either been rejected or not responded to.

“As in any case where a PCN is issued a motorist has the right to appeal. In this case two independent bodies – The Traffic Penalty Tribunal and the Traffic Enforcement Centre – have decided to reject the appeals made. Enforcement Agencies are only used as a method of last resort when all attempts to engage have failed, and it is regrettable that this has happened in this case. The PCN remains on hold and a council officer has made an offer to contact Mrs Edwards to discuss the matter in greater detail.”