Sutton Bridge motorist left questioning whether he’d travelled to the future after purchasing parking ticket at Queen Elizabeth Hospital in King’s Lynn

A motorist was left questioning whether he’d travelled to the future after purchasing a parking ticket… for what seemed to be 2098.

Sutton Bridge resident Tim Machin had paid his £2.60 fee for a space at King’s Lynn’s Queen Elizabeth Hospital on Tuesday, September 12 before having to quickly double check when and where he was – as the ticket was dated January 1, ’98.

“Now, it appears that this is a beyond my lifetime ticket which does not expire for 75 years, or indeed 175, 225 or 325 recurring years as there is no defined end date,” said Tim (70).

“It is clearly an impossible ticket... so I either entered a time warp or I have been overcharged?

“If it was a misprinted postage stamp it would be very valuable. Arguably, even taking its minimum 75-year life at today’s worth as a weekly ticket at £28 x 52 x 75 it is worth £109,200, but I’m open to sensible offers.”

Tim also cheekily wondered whether this means he would be allowed to re-use the ticket.

“Clearly the management will argue it is invalid, but It is a receipt for payment, so there is evidence of a contract which gives no specific end date,” he suggested.

“I could continue to use it until issued a penalty notice and then take it to court to test the legal interpretation.”

However, upon checking with the machine, the date for the ticket was in fact 1998… suggesting a trip back in time.

“Alternatively, I have been fraudulently charged for a service which is incapable of being honoured as it is 25 years in the past, or overcharged as fees were lower then, or I temporarily entered a time loop or maybe even the machine had a malfunction - yet there was no notice to say that was the case and I noticed later that other cars had similarly dated tickets on their dashboards,” Tim continued.

The Queen Elizabeth Hospital has been approached for a comment.