A family walks out of the cancer unit of the University Hospital of Wales, recently bereaved of their young daughter, who lost a long battle with leukaemia.. only to find a parking ticket, garish yellow, rubbing salt into a deep wound.

The ticket gets forgotten in their grief, and returns in the form of a reminding letter. Whilst in mourning this gets discarded and forgotten. A few weeks later a letter comes in through the post charging more than 6 x the original fine, threatening a court hearing, impacting their credit rating and risking a CCJ from a debt collection law firm. All because they wanted to say goodbye to their daughter one last time.

This is a story that happens all too often while patients and visitors park at the University Hospital of Wales in Cardiff. The parking firm aggressively intimidates pensioners, the ill and infirm with the threat of bailiffs, for a parking fee that is greatly unjust. They are threatening nurses, midwives and all manner of hospital staff with thousands of pounds worth of parking fines accrued while working ungodly hours night and day to keep our community living, breathing and healthy.

And where does the money gained from the parking firm go? Not back into the hospital, where any visitors, I'm sure, would agree is vastly underfunded.

I for one think this is disgusting behaviour and something needs to be done. I believe the parking should be run by and for the hospital, not for some company executive extorting cash from the pockets of the ill, infirm and altruistic.

Please sign this petition to show your support, so we can make a difference for our most vulnerable among us & kick out this malignant practice.

(The scenario described has been changed to protect the identity of the victims involved)