PARKING bosses face having to pay back fines worth thousands of pounds after it emerged white lines may not have been painted properly.

County highways officers have launched an investigation into whether some on-street parking bays in Pendle fail to comply with strict Government rules.

It means Lancashire County Council may have to refund thousands of drivers after the Department for Transport (DfT) said it expected local authorities to “seriously consider” paying back illegal fines.

At least one other council has already been forced to pay out thousands of pounds after it admitted it had wrongly billed drivers.

The County Hall probe - backed by a senior Pendle councillor - will look at Nelson streets including Wellington Street, Cragg Street and Brown Street as well as Albert Road, Spring Lane and New Market Street in Colne.

The roads in question all have on-street parking bays with two broken white lines at the end. However, DfT rules say they should only have one line if the bays are for a number of cars.

Coun Mohammed Iqbal, leader of Pendle Council’s Labour group, said there “obviously” needed to be an inquiry into the affair.

He added: “Clearly the county council will have to work with the district council if there are such faulty lines in Pendle.

“If the lines were painted wrongly then drivers should be refunded.

“There are people who look for loopholes but where there’s a genuine mistake then they will have to pay the fines back.”

County Coun Matthew Tomlinson, cabinet member with responsibility for parking, said he would order officers to look into the apparent anomaly to see if “we will have to get out there and put things right”.

However, he also condemned parking campaigners who urge drivers to use the small print of Government guidance to have parking tickets cancelled.

He said: “I never cease to be amazed by the loopholes people find to try and get out of the things they have done.”

Senior Pendle councillor Tony Greaves added: “No doubt the people who want their money back from these tickets will be the same people who complain that their council tax is too high.

“It is a sad indictment of the selfish society that we now live in that people are even considering doing that.”

Claiming back fines using obscure DfT loopholes was “legally right but morally wrong”, added Coun Greaves.

A spokesman for Lancashire County Council said engineers were currently investigating the on-street parking lines in Pendle borough.

A DfT spokesman said: “Local authorities need to make sure they operate reasonably and within the law.

“Every case is different but we would expect councils to seriously consider contacting motorists who may have been wrongly issued with a penalty charge notice.”

Earlier this year, Sheffield City Council agreed to pay back 13,500 drivers who drove up a street reserved for buses and trams.

Campaigners successfully argued that the road’s markings did not comply with DfT guidelines, leaving the council with a potential bill of £350,000.

Meanwhile, at least 80 other local authorities across Britain face claims after it was revealed that their fines did not comply with the law.