A Croydon cabbie is celebrating after the council said it would scrap almost all of the 100 fines he racked up for entering a restricted zone near his home.

Prince Ameyaw owed Croydon Council £14,000 and was threatened with court action but says a weight has been lifted knowing he will now only have to pay one fine to the authority.

The 27-year-old wasn’t sure exactly how many fines he had been issued, but said it was more than 100, for driving through the Parsons Mead low-traffic neighbourhood (LTN) repeatedly in his work as an Uber and Bolt driver.

He lives on Nelson Close. Residents of this road are allowed to drive through the LTN, but have to apply for a free permit to do so.

The father-of-two initially didn’t realise he would need this as he already has a £130 parking permit for the area, and thought this would allow him to enter the restricted zone.

His first ticket was issued in December and Prince now has a permit, meaning he can drive in and out of the area freely.

Croydon Council has decided to cancel all but one of his fines. This means that any threatened court action for not paying them will also be dropped.

A cost of £65 is paid within 14 days and £130 if paid at a later date.

Prince said: “This is very good news, I was like wow the stress has really been lifted big time.”

He added that since his troubles have been revealed, he has been inundated with calls from friends and family, including a worried call from his dad who did not know things had got so bad.

“I hadn’t told them before, I didn’t want to worry them,” said Prince. “I will call my dad now to tell him, he will be pleased.”

A spokesperson for Croydon Council said that residents were told about the new charges and the need for a permit on “several occasion”.

They added: “Further, a grace period was in place prior to PCNs being issued to allow drivers time to get used to the changes.

“Despite receiving PCNs over several months, Mr. Ameyaw did not contact the council or apply for a permit until April.

“On this occasion we have decided to cancel all but one of this resident’s PCNs. It is important to reiterate that eligible residents should not delay in applying for exemption permits.”