Readers of the Lincolnshire Echo have gone ‘parking mad’ over price hikes in car parking charges at Lincoln County Hospital.

The newspaper has been inundated with letters since new fees were introduced by the United Lincolnshire Hospitals NHS Trust and the Echo began a campaign to get the changes reversed.

Deputy editor Richard Bowyer said: “We’ve been stunned by the reaction from readers.

“I’ve been a journalist for 20 years and this is the biggest campaign I have ever been involved in in terms of responses.

“We’re getting between 150 and 200 e-mails, letters and signatures a day, without counting the various petitions which we have out in the area at the moment.”

The Echo launched its campaign after the NHS trust scrapped a 30 minute free parking period at the hospital and implemented a £2.50 minimum charge, with a £3 charge payable for visitors staying between four and six hours, and a £10 charge for those staying between six and 24 hours. The previous charge was a flat rate of £2 for up to 24 hours.

The paper is calling for prices to revert to a £2 per day flat fare with a free one hour parking period – with these prices frozen for two years.

The NHS trust has told the Echo that the increase in charges has been made to combat the number of people using the hospital car park as a park and ride facility – but the paper says there is no evidence that this is happening and has instead claimed that the raised charges are a bid to plug a £600,000 gap in the hospital’s budget.

Richard said: “We pay heavily through taxes for NHS services and feel this is an additional tax on the ill and their relatives.”

Since the campaign was launched two weeks ago the Echo has been packed with letters and articles on the issue, with between two and six pages devoted to the subject.

Richard said: “We’ve been absolutely inundated. We could give over complete editions of the paper with the amount of stuff we are getting through at the moment.”

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