A FORMER councillor who assaulted a parking attendant and then called him a 'Parkwise monkey’ has been fined £250.

A trial at Burnley Magistrates heard how Noel O’Brien tracked down the parking attendant who had left a Fixed Penalty Notice on his vehicle for exceeding the two-hour limit and carried out the physical and verbal attack.

The court was told how O’Brien, 57, of Mercer Crescent, Helmshore, returned to his car, in Phipps car park, Rawtenstall, on April 12, to find the notice on the windscreen.

Former Haslingden councillor O’Brien, said he forgot to set the clock on the disc and conseque-ntly, Jason McCourt issued the notice.

The court heard how O’Brien, approached Mr McCourt outside Rawtenstall Police Station and carried out the physical assault.

O’Brien, who denied all charges against him, said he was ‘not a violent man’ but conceded that he had made threats ‘irrationally'.

District Judge Peter Ward fined O’Brien £175 for the assault and £75 for the section five public order offence.

He was ordered to pay £100 costs and a £15 victim surcharge.