PARKING meters at Princess Margaret Hospital are so old that they refuse to issue tickets when it rains.

Attendants at the hospital have been instructed to stop issuing penalties to motorists during wet weather.

It follows a series of complaints from patients and visitors who have put money into the machines but not had a ticket in return.

The machines are supposed to be maintained by Swindon Borough Council.

But the council and the PMH have decided there is little point replacing the machines because the hospital will be moving to a new site at Commonhead in November.

One man who fell foul of the machines was pensioner Maurice Chatfield, who was visiting PMH for an x-ray. Mr Chatfield, 69, of Old Town, paid his £1.50 but waited in vain for a ticket and was forced to go to his appointment fearing that he would return to find a penalty on his windscreen.

He said he made complaints to both the hospital reception and parking attendants but was refused an explanation.

He said: "There were lots of people very confused by the whole thing, and we were given no explanation.

"It caused a lot of anxiety to people who were either patients themselves or visiting loved-ones. They don't deserve to be placed in a situation where they are left wondering if they will return to their car to find a fixed penalty attached."

The meters were installed at PMH to bring in revenue and also to stop people using it as an unofficial park and ride, leaving their cars and then catching a bus into the town centre.

They will be dumped when the hospital is demolished as part of the move to the new £100 million Great Western Hospital at Commonhead.

PMH spokesman Chris Birdsall said: "These machines are old and the council has got the contract to maintain them.

"There are times when they do not work, especially in inclement weather when they tend to become jammed. It is up to the discretion of the parking attendants whether they pursue cars that have no tickets on them."

Swindon Council spokeswoman Sarah Deacon said: "We are aware of this minor problem. The machines at PMH are now quite old and do occasionally jam if it is pouring with rain. The newer machines that the council has purchased do not have this problem. The machines at PMH are not being replaced as the hospital site is to move.

"The new site will have new machines in the car park. If the public do see a machine is out of order, we do urge them too report it so that someone can come out to fix it as soon as possible.

"Our parking inspectors use their common sense. If they see a car without a ticket and the machine doesn't appear to be working, then they will not issue a ticket."