A NORTH-EAST authority has won a High Court battle after fears that a magistrates ruling would allow hundreds of motorists escape parking fines.

Durham County Council appealed to the High Court after magistrates in North Durham decided that summonses must be delivered in person rather than posted.

The cost of paying someone to deliver a summons is up to £80.

Council transport chiefs feared the cost would make it impossible to serve law breakers with a summons if they lived far away.

Speaking at the High Court yesterday, Mr Justice Moses said: "In these circumstances it is readily understandable that the cost of enforcement is disproportionate to the costs of policing the charge.

"Drivers would become aware that enforcement is not possible. They could park with impunity and break the law."

Magistrates in Chester-le-Street, Darlington and Wear Valley have adopted a similar policy.

In the past, parking fine summonses were served by post, but Mr Justice Moses said the magistrates decision was prompted by advice from their chief executive about the need to ensure that the correct defendant was identified.

North Durham Magistrates considered it within their discretion to demand personal service.

But Mr Justice Moses said it was not within the magistrates' power or discretion to make such a requirement.

He granted Durham County Council an order stating that magistrates had no power to order personal delivery.

He said it would be absurd to go through the "fruitless exercise" of attempting to personally serve summonses on defendants "who have not even bothered to answer fixed notices to notify the DVLA of their change of address."