Gloucestershire County Council has denied the fines for motorists who drive through Boots Corner in Cheltenham are unenforceable.

In the last two weeks, two drivers who travelled through the restricted zone have publicly revealed how independent adjudicators ruled they didn't have to pay their fines due to signage not being "adequate".

One travelled down Royal Well Road into Clarence Street, while the other drove through one-way Albion Street the wrong way and turned left into Pittville Street - two of three ways to enter the prohibited area.

Two individual adjudicators of the Traffic Penalty Tribunal for England and Wales decided motorists Tom Bowhill and Frances Browne would not have to pay the fines handed to them by the county council.

However, the authority said it "certainly believes" the fines are enforceable.

Jim Daniels, parking manager at the county council, said: “The nature of tribunals is that they don’t set a precedent, each case is considered on the evidence.

"All the road signs for bus lanes in Gloucestershire follow national law and guidance and the vast majority of road users are complying with the trial closure of Boots Corner, which forms part of Cheltenham Borough Council’s transport plan.”

The two motorists

Last October Frances Browne was issued a fine for driving along Clarence Street and on through Boots Corner.

Blaming the signs for her misdemeanour, Ms Browne appealed against her penalty charge notice.

Mr Bowhill was also fined in October last year after driving down Albion Street, a two-way street which merges into a one-way system, the wrong way and eventually travelled through Boots Corner.

Frances Browne has an adjudicator's letter ruling that her fine for driving through Boots Corner has been quashed because the signs leading up to it are not adequate

Mr Bowhill told the Local Democracy Reporting Service he was "forced" to drive down the one-way road, behind John Lewis, because traffic was obstructing his view of road signs.

Left with no other option, he turned left into Pittville Street where the prohibited area starts on the east side of the town's high street.

That route follows through High Street, into Imperial Circus and the only option left is to turn right and drive into the Clarence Street bus lane on Boots Corner.

Tom Bowhill, who won an appeal over a fine he got when he drove through Boots Corner in Cheltenham

Two separate adjudicators ruled: "Overall, I am not satisfied that the county council have proved that the signage is adequate to give drivers reasonable notice of the bus lane and a reasonable opportunity to take an alternative route."

The trial scheme began last June, banning general traffic from using the route as part of Cheltenham Borough Council-led scheme to make the town centre through-route more pedestrian friendly.

Only exempt vehicles, such as buses and taxis, can pass through.

Motorists who drive through Boots Corner, the road which connects Clarence Street to North Street in the town centre, face a £30 penalty charge notice, or £60 if not paid within two weeks.