Patients who received a fine when they used a surgery car park with no functioning ticket machines are still in the dark over whether they will get their money back.

The two machines in the car park, which is used by visitors to the South Woodford Medical Centre in High Road, were broken for more than two weeks.

A number of patients, many of them elderly, received parking tickets as they could not use the alternative phone payment system.

Ian Edmunds, 24, an electrician of Faversham Avenue, said: "Both were not working and there was no way I could have paid over the phone because its battery had died.

"I need to use the car park as I work regularly in the area, and it is not fair for fines to be dished out when I had done everything in my power to pay, and was only there for 15 minutes."

Redbridge Council has not confirmed whether fines issued by wardens while the machines were broken will be written off or reimbursed.

Fines are £60, reduced to £30 if they are paid early.

A spokesman said: "The council recognises that the pay and display machines are currently experiencing faults and we apologise for the inconvenience to those using the area to park.

"One of the units has had ongoing technical problems and has been decommissioned, this will be removed in the near future. The new unit has, unfortunately, also developed a fault and this has been repaired.

"We can assure residents that no directive has been given to specifically target enforcement at this location. This site along with all other off street car parks, receives periodic visits by Civil Enforcement Officers in a patrol vehicle. Where officers do attend our car parks they are told to advise customers to pay by phone if there are ever problems with a pay and display machines."

Linda Sparke, a receptionist at Queen Mary Practice at South Woodford Medical Centre, said: "I work in the health centre and continually have people complaining to me about the ticket machines not working.

"Not everyone carries a mobile phone and credit card with them. This problem is ongoing and the council takes no notice of the complaints.  It must be a huge source of revenue for the borough."

One of the machines was fixed on Monday.