LONDON, Oct.17 (Xinhua) -- Thousands of British motorists face receiving parking tickets in a wrangle as many parking meters have not been altered to accept the 12-sided high security pound coins newly introduced.
As the old coins ceased to be legal tenders at one minute to midnight on Sunday, many motorists were left unable to feed parking meters, according to the Daily Telegraph.
Although the old coins can still be handed in at most banks, shops and businesses should have stopped accepting them or handing them out to customers.
The Telegraph reported that as a result, the withdrawal of the old pound coins was mired in chaos.
Car parks serving as many as 1 million motorists a day have defied the Royal Mint's deadline for updating their machines to accept the new pound coins.
In addition, some cash-strapped local councils are not planning to update parking meters until February, with the delay possibly resulting in nearly 200,000 extra parking fines issued over the period, or around 1,200 a day.
The British Parking Association urged drivers to carry a variety of different value coins to avoid getting caught out.
A number of major stores are defying the Royal Mint deadline and continuing to accept the old pound coins.
"We have been working with industry for the last three years to help prepare for the change to the new one pound coin," a spokeswoman for the Royal Mint told Xinhua.
"Businesses have been working hard to make sure their machines no longer accept or dispense round pound coins after Oct.15. However, this is a significant task and every machine may not be ready on or just after that date. The public can continue to donate or take their round pounds to their banks," the spokesman added.
