A PENSIONER has put his antique clock collection - up for sale in order to pay £500 worth of parking tickets.

Blue badge holder Chris Pung landed the fines after parking in a disabled bay in the car park of the Co-op, in Old Heath Road, Colchester, five times in September.

However, the 65-year-old wasn’t able to display his badge on those occasions after his previous car had been stolen and burned out with the badge inside.

Mr Pung, who suffers from lung disease COPD and has a disintegrated disc in his back, had applied for a renewal but the new badge had not arrived.

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In the meantime, he mistakenly believed the new car would be cleared by ANPR cameras as it was registered to him - a disabled person.

But now he is facing a £500 bill after receiving five parking tickets from National Parking Enforcement Ltd, which legitimately runs the shop’s car park.

He said: “I barely get by as it is on a widower’s pension and there is just no way I can get that sort of money together.

“I have appealed each of them but they have been rejected so I am selling my antique collection to have any chance of paying the fines.”

He added: “It was my mum who left me a few to get it started and I fell in love with them.

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“I buy them and do them up.

“The collection is probably worth quite a few quid.”

In total, Mr Pung has 45 clocks which are all up for sale.

The pensioner has looked into getting a short-term loan to pay the fines but has been refused.

He added: “It really breaks my heart to sell the clocks but I have no other way to do it and if it must be paid, this is all I can do.”

The widower, who lives off Berechurch Hall Road, has made a last ditch appeal for anyone to come forward to pay his fines in return for regular re-payments over a matter of months.

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He added: “Perhaps if someone did do that, it would make it a little more affordable for me and I could keep the collection.”

READ MORE: 70-year-old threatens to take parking company to court

Meanwhile, fellow car park victim Alan Toussaint has “declared war” upon both the Co-op and National Parking Enforcement Ltd after he was ordered by bailiffs to cough up £160 following a parking fine.

He has since received five further letters threatening court action.

Mr Toussaint, who lives in Rowhedge, said: “At this point they’ll have to take me to prison because there is no way I’m paying up and I’ve made that quite clear.”

A Co-op spokesman has previously refused to comment on the matters as it does not run the car park.

Both men said store staff have been sympathetic but could not help once the fines had been issue.

National Parking Enforcement Ltd was contacted for comment but no response was received.