A PENSIONER has been left feeling “disgusted” after the council backtracked on its decision to increase his parking permit by 400 per cent.

Gerry Ponting of Brettenham Road, Walthamstow paid £125 earlier this month for a permit which cost him £25 last year.

The 69-year-old who receives a £129 pension every week was left with just £4 to live on until his next payday.

After Mr Ponting’s plight was raised in the Guardian, he received a letter from the council saying he would be charged only £25 and would have the difference refunded.

Mr Ponting said: “I am not happy with it at all, I’m rather upset. I am more than disgusted with the way this has been handled.

East London and West Essex Guardian Series:

“I stuck up for my rights and I got my money back but how many more people have they charged this much and they have just paid it?

“Labour is meant to be for the poor but this is not living up to what Jeremy Corbyn has said. It is punishing the poor.”

Mr Ponting campaigned against plans for a controlled parking zone (CPZ) for five years before it was introduced in April of last year.

According to Waltham Forest Council, Mr Ponting’s 15-year-old car is classed as a “high emission vehicle” and jumped from a “standard” permit to a “high” in the past year.

He said he knew the price of a permit would rise after one year and presumed it would increase by £10.

East London and West Essex Guardian Series:

But after sending a postal order for £35 to the council when his permit was due for renewal he was “shocked” to be told it had risen to £125.

After he paid £125 because he had “no other choice” Mr Ponting was unable to afford his rent, gas and electricity until the following week.

He has now written to the Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn and the Prime Minister Theresa May about the “ridiculous charge”.

Mr Ponting added: “I will not be silenced. I will always stand by my word. It’s more valuable than anything in the world to me. They will not shut me up.”