FURIOUS driver Stefan Lamb says Gloucester City Council has "abandoned common sense" by refusing to cancel a 'Bridge of Fines' penalty.
He was ordered to pay £30 for using a bus lane to cross Llanthony Bridge.
But he said he had no choice as the Gloucester 10k run had closed all other routes that day.
Staying at home was not an option as the car salesman needed to get to work at Bristol Street Motors for 10am.
The Gloucester Docks resident said: "My only way out was to go over the bridge as the other roads were closed.
"We were told they would be in advance but not that there would be no other means of escape.
"If there had been another way to go I would have used it."
It is the first motoring fine the Ford Focus driver has ever received and he challenged it as soon as it was issued in February.
But this week he was shocked when he found out his appeal had been rejected.
The 44-year-old said: "I'm really wound up about this.
"It's not right as I have basically been fined for going to work and the council isn't using common sense.
"What was I supposed to do, not go and get sacked?"
He is now taking the case to the independent adjudicator but said it is a "massive waste of his time" and the council should have backed down.
He said: "If anyone at the council had an ounce of common sense I wouldn't be in this position."
Mr Lamb's fight comes after pensioner Eric Howard won an appeal against his £60 fine for driving across the bridge in November. He said signs on the bridge were not clear enough. Earlier this month The Citizen revealed that from April 2012 up to February 2013, 6,054 tickets were issued to motorists caught driving over Llanthony Bridge.
The money goes to Gloucestershire County Council, which is responsible for the road signs. Gloucester City Council collects the fines on its behalf.
A city council spokesman said: "Mr Lamb's appeal was dismissed on the grounds that there had been sufficient advance notice and warning of the proposed closure.
"Large events of this kind can be an inconvenience for local residents.
"In this case the road was closed for a little over two-and-a-half hours and residents are expected to make alternative arrangements for that period of time."
