CAR parking at Ipswich Hospital is free – but only until technical problems with the meters at Heath Road are fixed.

Confusion erupted among visitors to the trust after an announcement that parking charges were due to fall.

But despite the changes coming into effect on Monday, readers contacted The Star outraged that the old, higher prices were still being enforced.

Earlier this month we reported that after listening to patients and visitors, the hospital had decided to reduce parking charges to �1 for up to an hour, �2 for up to two hours, �3 for up to three hours, �4 for up to four hours and �7 for more than four hours.

David Cooper contacted The Star yesterday, claiming the new lower prices were not being implemented by the trust.

The patient said: “Instead of being �2 for up to two hours it is �3, that is 20p more than before they claimed it was going to get cheaper.”

Ipswich Hospital spokeswoman Jan Ingle said a technical problem with the parking meters not registering the new prices had caused the confusion.

She apologised and added that until the machines are fixed parking will be free for all patients and visitors.

“It is our error and so we have suspended parking fees until the machine is fixed. We apologise for any confusion caused.”