Sir – I had never driven in Oxford before, so quite understandably I was totally unfamiliar with the ‘lucrative trap’ that the council have decided to impose on unsuspecting motorists.

I had been driving around and around the city, becoming increasingly frustrated at not being able to find anywhere to park the car.

It was a hot day and I was anxious to get out and explore the city. I was totally unaware that I had driven down a bus lane.

Normally the road is clearly marked when there is a bus lane, so that you know straightaway that you cannot drive down there. However, in this situation, from looking on Google Earth, I can only see a small sign with a camera underneath and then a 20mph sign. The problem with this, (if you are the motorist), is when you are driving in an unfamiliar city you can easily fall prey without ever realising until you receive the fine in the post.

For those who are busy reading every sign whilst driving, instead of looking out for pedestrians, I believe they still would not have had enough time to have taken corrective action in this case.

I have driven through many unfamiliar cities in my life, however, not once did I receive a fine for anything.

Yet in my home country I am fined for just wanting to have a nice day out on my birthday.

During that day, we had spent over £200 on drinks and evening meal at a pub in the city. We had also spent money in some of the local shops. From this experience, I will never want to visit Oxford again.

Andrew Wild, Pontesbury, Shrewsbury