A poet from Llanerfyl, near Llanfair Caereinion, has become the second man in Wales to take a stand against parking fines written only in English.

Arwyn Groe received a parking charge at a car park in Llangrannog, Ceredigion, in July and has refused to pay it on the grounds that the pentalty notice and all subsequent correspondence were not written in the Welsh language.

His fine has now been passed to a debt collecting agency.

Mr Groe has been part of numerous campaigns for Welsh language education in Powys and a long-time member of Cymdeithas yr Iaith, an association that wants to ensure equal opportunities for Welsh language speakers.

He said: “In this particular case, it is clear that the company in question has not learned from Tony Schiavone's stand, and continues to show a lack of respect for the people of Wales even though they should know better by now.

OTHER NEWS:

“They can't hide behind a veil of ignorance about the situation anymore.

“As far as I'm concerned, giving in to their demands and threats would show a lack of respect for Tony's earlier stand, and send a message to the company that we are happy to comply with and accept their imperial arrogance. I'm not ready to do that."

The incident follows a case earlier this year, in which Toni Schiavone, a former teacher and education officer for the Welsh Government refused to pay a parking fine he received in a car park in Llangrannog.

Mr Schiavone eventually won his court battle with One Parking Solutions Ltd, the same company that issued a fine to Mr Groe.

Tamsin Davies, vice-chair of Cymdeithas yr Iaith, said: "It is clear that neither the owner of the car park nor the company running it have any respect for or interest in the Welsh language.

“One campaigner has been to court after refusing to pay an English-only fine, and the company has decided not to listen.

"Private companies are not under an obligation to provide any Welsh language provision so they don't.

“The answer is obvious, the current Language Measure needs to be extended to include private companies. And it is about time to do that.”