€500 fine for Costa del Sol mobility scooter driver

A DISABLED woman from Fuengirola intends to lodge complaints regarding a surprise €500 fine she was given in August for driving her mobility scooter the wrong way down a one-way street in Benahavis.

Ana Maria Perez, who lived in Benahavis for many years but later moved to Fuengirola, returned to stay in the village this summer to go to the fair and on her way home one day had no choice but to move her scooter onto the road on Calle Montemayor as pavements were too narrow for pedestrians, let alone her scooter.

She was stopped by a Local Police officer, who told her she was driving the wrong way along the street and would be fined.

“I explained that I had no choice due to the lack of pavement and assumed he was only joking about the fine,” Ana Maria explained, stressing that he didn’t ask for her ID or give her any paperwork.

Yet when her son went to pay their property tax, he was informed that there was a €500 fine for the alleged offence. 

Now, the family explained, the matter has been put in the hands of lawyers and the Andalucian ombudsman. 

“It isn’t just the lack of compassion on the policeman’s part we are complaining about, but also the fact that we were not notified of the fine and only found out by chance,” Perez’s son stressed.