HORRENDOUS reports on car parking and the issuing of penalty charge tickets have taken up much space in our newspapers recently.

There have been stories of mothers collecting young children, van drivers unloading in authorised areas, funeral mourners, buses collecting passengers at authorised stops, an ambulance and a hearse all being given parking tickets by wardens.

The most harrowing case was that of a "written-off" car following a serious road accident. The heartless warden stood and watched while the emergency services did their job and then slapped a ticket on the vehicle. No doubt the story of the rabbit hutch given a ticket raised some smiles, but there are some serious issues involved here.

I make no excuse for illegal or irresponsible parkers: they deserve the punishment they get, but these cases are something different. Fines ranging from £20 to £60 are being issued with no regard for the circumstances. It is alarming that these cases don't stem from one town or one commercial parking company; the problem would seem to be a widespread one.

In answer to challenges, usually from the press, the stock answer seems to be "the warden has been sent for retraining", but common sense can't be taught and without that essential part of human make-up, victims do not stand a chance. Surely this should be obvious to those in authority who employ these people.

However, there seems to be a hidden agenda at work here. There have been cases of wardens hiding while the person goes to a ticket machine, only to find their vehicle has been booked while they were away; parking meter clocks have been set slow so as to catch unwary parkers returning to their cars "late", when in fact they are not late at all; the warden who booked hundreds of legally parked cars on a bank holiday (he insisted he had been instructed to do so by his supervisor). The issuing of fines under these circumstances is nothing short of theft.

The commercial parking companies, who are in business to make money, must be controlled and monitored by the local authorities who employ them. The authorities cannot continue to just pass the buck. It seems that there is no right of appeal in law in these cases and the only appeal is to the company which issued the ticket. This is unacceptable, justice must be seen to be done and this widespread method of operation changed.

Some years ago I was advised that if a warden is writing out a ticket, don't stand and argue just get in your vehicle and drive away. If the ticket cannot be attached to the vehicle it cannot be enforced. I would be interested to know if this still applies.

What is the law? We all need to know where we stand.

ANTHONY MANN.