Thirty penalty charge notices were issued at Blair Mayne Leisure Centre in Newtownards on 27 March.

The tickets were issued on the same day that dozens of children with disabilities attended a dance competition at the centre.

Canon Jonathan Pierce, who was taking his daughter to the event, received one of the fines after parking on double yellow lines.

He holds a blue badge but was unaware that the exemption does not apply in the leisure centre car park.

A Freedom of Information request by Canon Pierce showed only two tickets had been issued at the centre in the four days before the event.

Canon Pierce said parents travelling from Belfast had not received advance notice about parking restrictions that local residents had been given.

Ards and North Down Council stated that enforcement levels depend on observed non-compliance and that the car park is patrolled daily under the 2024 Off Street Parking Order.

If all 30 fines are paid at the reduced rate of £45, the council would collect £1,350.

Payment at the standard rate of £90 would raise the total to £2,700.

Canon Pierce described the action as excessive and said he had appealed the fine.