POLICE have apologised to a couple after slapping them with a ticket for parking on a yellow line -- more than 10 years after it disappeared.

Jeanette Gregory, 34, discovered the £30 fixed penalty notice on her husband's Ford Mondeo when she returned from taking her six-year-old daughter to school.

The car was parked outside their home in St Hubert's Road, Great Harwood, while she walked to St John's CE Primary School in nearby St John's Street with young Victoria on Tuesday.

But the single yellow line on that part of the road was revoked in April 1992.

Mrs Gregory, 40, rang her husband, Duncan, who went to Great Harwood police station to complain.

Sergeant Dave Reddin visited the couple later with the officer who had issued the ticket, PC Richard Holmes, to apologise for the mistake.

"I couldn't believe it, I thought I was seeing things," said Jeanette.

Duncan added: "According to the police we were parked on a single yellow line, but it was removed at least 10 years ago.

"They came down and apologised and said they were going to get the ticket cancelled.

"I feel better, but I would love to have gone to court with it -- I knew I stood within the law."

The yellow line, which imposes a no-waiting restriction from 8am to 6pm Monday to Friday, was first installed in May 1985 and operated for 25 metres on both sides of the road from its junction with Blackburn Road.

Although the first 10-metre stretch from the junction is still in force, the other 15 metres of the line were revoked in April 1992.

Sgt Reddin said: "There was a vehicle parked on the T-bar at the end of the yellow line, so the officer couldn't see where it was.

"He thought the line was continuous down that side of the road, albeit faded. He thought he was issuing the ticket legally."

PC Holmes said: "Having gone into it in more depth, the car wasn't parked in contravention of a very faded line."