TikToker Zoe Bread forces council to review parking signs amid claims 'hundreds of fines may have been issued falsely'
16 April 2025, 15:34 | Updated: 16 April 2025, 15:38
A TikToker has forced a local council to review a potential error in its parking signage. The video by Zoë Bread claims hundreds of parking fines may have been falsely issued because of "misleading" signage.
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Manchester City Council has said it will “explore if additional signage is needed”, after Bread posted the video investigation detailing her own experience with the “misleading” signs.
Bread, a T-shirt designer who uses a pseudonym online, posted a viral three-minute video on April 12, alleging that drivers are being directed to the wrong pay meter at Collier Street in Manchester city centre.
The TikToker was inspired to post the investigation when she claims she was directed to buy a ticket at the wrong pay meter herself, and was fined by the council.
“It’s literally the definition of misleading,” she said in the video. “I was literally misled by it”.
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The video, as well as featuring recorded phone disputes with appeals spokespeople, included “stake-outs” of the parking spot.
Bread also submitted a Freedom of Information request, asking how many fines had been issued on the road.
Posting a hand-drawn table of results, Bread claimed that an uptick in fines correlated with the introduction of the private car park in 2018. The figures showed hundreds of fines had been made.
The council has since said the local authority believed there was “clear signage”, but has acknowledged there had been “some confusion among a small amount of motorists”.
Alan Good, an opposition councillor who represents the Liberal Democrats, said that he thinks parking fines made as a result of signage confusion should be paid back.
"They can take a bit more of a human and more of a common sense approach to parking enforcement," he said of the council.
"This is one of those times they really need to come down here for themselves and have a look and install a new meter."
