IT'S little wonder that traffic wardens and parking attendants get a bad reputation. Lesley Shorrock was returning from her Christmas shopping when she caught the attendant putting a £10 fixed penalty notice on her car - a quarter of an hour before her pay and display ticket ran out.

Mrs Shorrock showed him her valid ticket but was left in tears when the man refused to budge an inch. The attendant later faced up to his mistake and sent a letter of apology.

His company, Legion Security, has launched an investigation into how a fine could be issued to a paying customer with a valid ticket. And Blackburn with Darwen Council, which owns the town centre car park, has also made an apology.

But it doesn't excuse the fact that Mrs Shorrock could be left so exasperated by a parking attendant who refused to listen to her pleas that she burst into tears.

There are few issues which raise tempers like parking. Even parking companies often tell us they are hard done to and their staff get an unreasonable amount of stick from motorists.

But the uncompromising way in which Mrs Shorrock was treated beggars belief. At Christmas, town centre shops need all the promotion they can get to help people get into a festive spending mood.

And the bizarre actions of this car park attendant are not good news for traders, who are reporting weak sales in the run up to Christmas.