A couple spent two years battling the council over a £2.20 parking ticket they say blew off their dashboard - and ended up having to pay £400 . Shane O'Byrne and wife Jaimie received the fine after they took their newborn baby Cristabelle out for the first time in March 2013 . In the process of getting out of the car the ticket they had bought fell on the floor just underneath the driver 's seat - invisible to the warden who issued them with a penalty . Escalating row : A couple spent two years battling the council over a £2.20 parking ticket they say blew off their dashboard - and ended up being ordered to pay £400 . The couple explained to the authorities what had happened but were not let off the fine . Adamant they would not pay it , the O'Byrne 's exchanged a number of letters with the council over the next two years - with the row escalating from an initial £25 fine to bailiffs knocking on their door and demanding £400 . Mr O'Byrne , from Southsea in Portsmouth , Hampshire , was forced to pay the sum to Chichester District Council after the incident in a car park in Chichester , West Sussex . Mr O'Byrne , a self-employed marketing consultant , said : 'We parked in a marked bay and purchased a ticket . 'As this was the first time we 'd taken our first child out of the house it was all a bit of an ordeal getting her and the buggy out , out of the way of other traffic . 'In my haste I failed to attach the ticket firmly to the inside of the windscreen . 'On our return to the car I found a parking ticket on the windscreen and found my ticket on the floor just under the driver 's seat . Not backing down : Chichester Council have insisted they followed the correct procedures and made the 'appropriate decision ' 'As this was an unfortunate occurrence I assumed it would be cleared up by us sending a letter and the actual ticket to Chichester council explaining what had happened , which I did . ' I was therefore a little shocked to hear that the council were not interested in my story . ' The council did n't cancel the fine and both parties involved corresponded a number of times over the coming months . The family moved house to another address in Southsea over the two-year period and said he informed the council of his move . But bailiffs turned up at his old house , where Mr O'Byrne has tenants , and demanded payment or to take belongings to the value of £400 . Mr O'Byrne believes the whole row has been a waste of time and money for the council , he said : ' I understand there is a process but common sense should have prevailed . 'It was a £2.20 ticket that I actually bought . I ca n't understand why local government ca n't use common sense . ' In a letter to the council he stated : 'All I ever asked is that a government , and therefore taxpayer-funded , organisation treated this case with common sense and they did not waste taxpayers ' money on a totally unnecessary campaign based on a ticket that was paid for . ' He admitted he would have paid the initial £25 fine if he knew the row would cause him so much grief . A spokeswoman for Chichester District Council said : 'We understand it 's not nice receiving a penalty notice but we do need to manage parking activity in the district effectively and we treat each case both fairly and transparently . 'Our parking enforcement team follows the legislation within the Traffic Management Act . 'This particular case has been through three stages , one of which was an independent traffic penalty tribunal . 'All agreed that the council had followed the correct procedures and had made the appropriate decision . '
Shane O'Byrne and wife Portsmouth received the parking fine in March 2013 . Couple , of Jaimie , had been taking newborn baby out for the first time . As they got out car the ticket they bought fell on floor below driver 's seat . Council refused to let them off and initial £25 fine escalated to £400 bill .