Warburton Toll Bridge fine issued to driver 270 miles away

The bridge previously cost 12p a crossing, but the charge was increased to £1 following refurbishment works in recent years.

Manned toll booths were removed and replaced with an automatic number plate recognition (ANPR) camera system.

Mr Parsons told BBC Politics North West he received an unpaid toll charge in early June for a crossing in March.

“I put my Sherlock Holmes hat on because I didn’t realise that I’d ever been near the bridge,” he said.

“And in fact, I had never been near the bridge because it’s 271 miles from where I live. So I was quite perturbed and annoyed.”

He appealed and discovered the camera had misread his registration plate, which differed by one character from the vehicle photographed.

Two weeks later, he received a second letter relating to another crossing in April.

Mr Parsons then submitted a subject access request to parking operator Excel Parking, after which the charges were cancelled.

He said he was “lucky” to know what steps to take and highlighted that a Facebook group where others had been through similar experiences with the bridge had helped him.

“I thought ‘this is bad, I need to get it resolved’ but I have a lot more sympathy for local people that have to cross that bridge on multiple occasions,” he said.

He also raised concerns about his personal information being released by the DVLA.

The DVLA said it was “sorry for any distress caused”.

“In this case, the company that requested the information has confirmed the notices were issued in error and has cancelled the charges,” a spokesperson said.