"Welcome to Britain's Parking Chaos: How One Street Racked Up 27,000 Fines Amidst Hidden Signs and Traffic Jams"

A BUSY shopping street has seen a whopping 27,000 parking tickets handed out in just three years.

Alum Rock Road in Birmingham has become a parking warden’s playground – with unhappy drivers saying they have been caught out by a confusing patchwork of signs and restrictions.

When The Sun visited the bustling street, parking infringements appeared almost everywhere.

The area itself has become the kind of thriving High Street that has disappeared from many parts of Britain, with people flocking from all over to see what’s on offer.

But when it comes to parking, the road is more Wild West than shopping paradise.

Alum Rock Road is narrow, meaning buses struggle to pass when cars are parked on both sides.

The council’s answer is a system which allows free parking on one side for an hour between 7am and 1pm.

From 1pm to 7pm, the free parking switches to the other side.

Drivers told us it is a recipe for confusion, with motorists left racing against the clock to move their cars.

Data released by ParkAppeal shows that 27,021 fines were issued in the last three years – with 11,484 in 2025/26, some 31 tickets a day.

Council bosses however said the restrictions were “clear”.

But when The Sun visited – we found unhappy and confused drivers who found the rules confusing.

And some signage that had even been vandalised and painted over, adding to the chaos.

Majid, 29, had travelled from Stoke-on-Trent when he stopped on the wrong side of the road while his wife popped into a greengrocers.

He thought he would be fine until his wife realised she had forgotten her purse.

Majid dashed inside to pay, only to return to a £70 ticket.

He said: “It’s just one of those things. There’s just no parking around here.”

Restaurant owner Mohammed Uddin, 52, knows only too well how bad the parking has become.

The married dad-of-six said: “I used to live around here but I moved because of the parking issue.”

He added: “There are no restrictions on the side roads which are all residential and trying to park near your house became impossible.

“You’d do the school run or a bit of shopping and there’d be no spaces anywhere.

“Everyone has got more cars. Most houses have two or three and on a terraced street there’s nowhere for them to go.

“I’m just waiting here while my wife does the shopping. One hour is not necessarily enough.”

The parking headache is also hitting businesses.

Imran Khan’s barber shop is packed with customers paying just £7 for a haircut.

But he says some are put off by the prospect of returning to their cars to find a £35 fine.

“I’ve lost a lot of customers because of the parking situation,” he said.

“A £7 haircut doesn’t feel like a bargain if you go back to a £35 fine. They’ll not come here again.

“We need more parking.”

On nearby side streets, cars can be seen parked on pavements and ignoring no-parking signs.

One traffic warden said: “Most definitely and we could give out a lot more.

“People think we’re harsh but the truth is that we are as generous as we can be but we have jobs to do and the road to keep clear.

“Some people just don’t care. They are here to spend many a couple of thousand pounds on outfits for weddings and stuff and another £35 on top doesn’t bother them. Others get angry.

“They may be confused by the rules but we just have to do our job.”

Zaheer, 35, a taxi driver, was left furious after picking up a ticket.

“I thought it was free parking for an hour then I looked at the board and realised it was on the other side of the road,” he said.

“This means three hours of wages to me. It’s no joke.”

The chaos can quickly cause gridlock, with delivery vans forced to stop wherever they can.

Delivery driver Raj Madhani, 65, was trying to unload a heavy load when his van blocked another driver.

Zara Ahmed, 40, had been shopping with her daughter, sister and two nieces when she found herself trapped.

As the clock edged towards 1pm, she feared the parking rules would change before she could get out.

Zara said: “We come here for groceries and clothes. If you have an event coming up then you’ll probably visit Alum Rock Road. The parking, though, can be stressful.”

Raj was left raging after unloading his van in 35C heat – fuming: “This has to be one of the worst places in Britain”

“Honestly, I am never coming here again. People are so selfish.”

Lecturer Jawed Iqbal, 64, said the situation had become “horrendous”.

He said: “I live around here but would never drive. The number of shops has increased, car ownership has increased and there is nowhere for them all to go.

“I heard the wardens were intimidated at one stage and would send cars with cameras up the street to capture registration plates. I don’t know if this is true but it wouldn’t surprise me.”

Some of the parking signs have also been covered in paint.

Rasheda Begum, 41, an IT worker from Oxford, said: “You get people from all over the UK coming here to shop and it is quite a narrow street.

“I have seen two buses blocking the road because people are parked on both sides. The only sensible thing to do is get dropped off or get into one of the car parks.”

There is another car park at supermarket Al-Halal, although online reviews suggest its 90-minute limit is strictly enforced by ANPR cameras.

Abdul Khan, who runs a mobile phone shop, said drivers should try the side streets.

He said: “If you have any sense you’ll find a spot on a side street. There are no restrictions there but some people are in a hurry and just don’t care.

“For some people the fine is nothing, for others it is a big problem. Of course it puts off customers but I don’t think the Council are going to find any solutions.”

Shop worker Zainab, 25, said the road can become “really manic” at weekends and during Eid.

She said: “I come to work by bus and sometimes it can take 15 minutes for the bus to get up this short road – cars will be turning round, an ice-cream van will be parked up and a bus won’t be able to get passed.

“Some people get tickets because they don’t read the signs, others because they can’t be bothered to follow the rules but they have to be enforced or there would be gridlock.”

A Birmingham City Council spokesperson said the amount of ticket’s issued Alum Rock Road is to change the “behaviour” of drivers on the street.

“Alum Rock Road is a busy road with clear parking restrictions in place,” a spokesperson said.

“Regular enforcement takes place on this road to encourage motorists to comply with parking restrictions and to try and change parking behaviour at this location, to make it a safe and welcome place for everyone.

“We would also encourage people to use public transport, walk or cycle where they can rather than bring cars into a busy thoroughfare.

“For those that do need to use their car we would ask them to park considerately and be mindful of other road users.

“The council is also working on a new cleaning and maintenance programme for its car parks.”