It's difficult to not heed nature's call because if we do, we run the risk of publicly embarrassing ourselves. If we have to visit the loo one too many times, we suspect it's diarrhea. A driver in Scotland's Edinburgh suffered a loss of $37 only because he couldn't hold it any longer and urgently attended nature's call. The double whammy (of the poo attack and the financial loss) left him disgruntled but the damage couldn't be reversed.

Walter Grieve didn't imagine his day would be so unfortunate. Grieve was charging his electric car at his local Drumbrae Library Hub point, but due to an upset stomach, he couldn't make it back to his vehicle within the 12-hour time limit, as reported by Edinburg Live. The council saw his car abandoned at the charging station and filed for a fine in the driver's name. Grieve knew he would have to pay the price of leaving his car unattended, so the 66-year-old looked for a way to reach out to the Edinburgh Council to explain what had happened and to appeal the fine. 

The man explained that he has had the electric car in his name since 2021, and usually sticks it on charge for about six or seven hours. However, he fell sick and because of that, he couldn't pick up the car on time and he was an hour late, to be precise. The man added that he stuck the car on charge at about 10 am. But he could only manage to reach the charging station at 11.30 pm. Grieve continued, "You register with the council and get a card to use their electric car charging points, then you receive an invoice later." He also mentioned how the bouts of diarrhea forced him to leave everything behind.

"I had left my car on charge at 10 in the morning and went home to grab some lunch. I had been feeling unwell but managed to eat some food, then became much more unwell later on." Ouch! Sickness always knocks uninformed, so the man's request to revoke the fine seems genuine. He added, "I had an upset stomach and was an hour late collecting it when I arrived at around 11.30 pm. I knew it had gone over the 12 hours limit. So I emailed the council early the next day to explain as I knew I would get a fine." But to no avail. 

His request to the council has received no acknowledgment and Grieve said, "All he's heard from his local councilor after raising the council's 'lack of response' is that they're 'looking into it.'" The office got in touch with him and asked him to provide proof to back up his argument of getting caught by a stomach bug and diarrhea. Sadly, the 66-year-old driver had none and said, "A person wouldn't go to the GP for that even if you could get an appointment." Walter revealed that it's been three months since he received the fine on March 6, 2023. But his request is still pending.