PARKERS' Watchdog (Letters, March 5), alleged that NCP had set the clocks within the parking meters to run several minutes behind time in a deliberate attempt to catch out motorists.

NCP strongly refutes these allegations and, in order to allay the fears of the public, we would like to explain how the meters work.

The meters referred to are not electro-mechanical but modern, electronic pay-and-display machines which print a ticket indicating the machine number, date and time of departure. Before a penalty charge notice can be issued, the time on the ticket is checked against the time on the machine's electronic LCD display. In the unlikely event that the chip-based clock is slow, the deviation will also be reflected in the departure time shown on the ticket. The machines are checked daily and any discrepancies corrected.

NCP employs more than 3,000 people nationwide with more than 1,000 employed on its on-street operations. They perform a valuable service, often under trying and difficult circumstances.

We acted swiftly in the recent incident in Bury concerning the falsification of photographic evidence by staff and have put checks in place to ensure that such an incident cannot happen again. We take exception to the correspondent's allegation that NCP employs "dubious methods" to generate revenue for the council.

The attendants are merely performing their duties and any driver contravening the road traffic regulations as laid down in the Highway Code can expect to be penalised.

ANGELA TYREMAN,

head of communications, NCP.