A BLOOD donor has criticised the council for ticketing a minibus used to transport staff to and from donation sessions.

The NHS minibus, labelled with ‘please give blood’ stickers was ticketed by City of York Council wardens for parking on a single yellow line in Percy’s Lane as nurses took donations from volunteers inside The National Centre for Early Music.

Andrew Suggitt, 30, from Bishop Hill, came outside after giving blood and was outraged to see the van with a ticket tucked underneath the windscreen wiper.

York Press:

He had been giving blood on Easter Monday and felt the ticket was an unnecessary inconvenience on a vital service.

He said: “If it was an emergency vehicle they wouldn’t put a ticket on it and this vehicle is up there with an ambulance or police car.

“I would hope common sense would prevail and they would ignore vehicles like that because they are so important to people’s health and the running of hospitals.

“Every one was quite disappointed the minibus had been fined because the staff do a wonderful job and were working the bank holiday.

“As much as it was a bank holiday the hospitals still need a supply of blood.

“The session was full and this made it disappointing it had happened when the staff worked so hard and they were giving up their bank holiday.”

Mr Suggitt claims vehicles belonging to the blood donor team are allowed to park where other cars and vans are prohibited, and are given exemptions, but City of York Council said it is unable to discuss individual cases.

A spokesman for City of York Council said the NHS usually applies for a parking exemption but had not done so on this occasion.

Graham Titichener, Parking services manager, for the authority, said: “They are able to object the ticket and this will be considered in the statutory appeals system, which all local authorities are required abide by.

“They can also apply for a parking permit for future use.

“If it is an emergency, officers do have discretion, however yellow lines are in place for a reason and parking on them can impede and obstruct traffic.

“It can also be a safety issue to park on these, as in some cases it could block the line of sight for other vehicles, which could result in an accident.”