Jottings council , “ You can ’ t just bring a step ladder from home ,” adding predictably , “ Health and safety comes first .”
Cheshire East Council ordered a 76- year-old resident to remove a garden ornament from beside a planter of flowers on a patch of land at a road junction claiming it could distract motorists and was a “ safety issue .” Laurence Perry of Wistaston said the public had been “ appreciative ” of the six-inch-high garden gnome , bending over and baring his bottom which lit up at night .
Boys in Blue
A Cumbria police force carried out a controlled explosion on a “ suspicious ” car parked at a police station , not realising its own officers had parked it there , while in Bristol last month , officers smashed down the door of a flat and smashed up the inside following a tip-off that Class A drugs would be found stored there , before admitting they ’ d been “ misinformed .”.
On Humberside , efficient officers towed away a van belonging to a disabled woman . They then posted a picture of it on Twitter with the caption , “ Another untaxed vehicle removed from our streets .” However , when the owner reported that her fully-taxed van had been stolen from the driveway of her home , the police admitted it they ’ d taken away the wrong vehicle and returned it with an apology .
Residents of Hopeman in Moray were so fed up of the police failing to stop drivers speeding through their village that they took their own action . Villagers dressed in fluorescent jackets have been pointing hairdryers at cars to mimic police speed traps .
Yellow Peril
In Fife , two traffic wardens caused outrage in Kirkcaldy after they fined a pensioner dropping his wife at hospital while their own vehicle was parked on double yellow lines . A witness said the car owner , “ who must have been in his eighties , was running across the road to tell the female warden that he ’ d only been parked for two minutes .”
Fife Council responded by reminding motorists that it is an offence to park on double yellow lines “ at any time ,” but added that , “ parking attendants are exempt from most parking restrictions whilst carrying out their duties .” Incidentally , Scottish Councils made over £ 40 million in profits from parking tickets during 2016 .
A driver who was forced to leave her car behind because it was stuck inside a police cordon in Leicester city centre returned to find she had been issued a parking ticket . Police investigating an incident had cordoned off a section of Belvoir Street and police refused Abigail Smith permission to retrieve her car . The next day when she returned to her car it had a £ 70 parking ticket stuck to the windscreen . So she e-mailed Leicester City Council , who issued the ticket , and explained that her car had been trapped inside a police cordon . But the council replied stating that the parking ticket would stand , and a council spokesman added that it had been issued after the cordon was removed .
In Hackney , traffic wardens were caught parking illegally to buy ice-cream minutes after ticketing a pregnant driver in the same area . A photographer who was at the scene alleged that the wardens then got free ice-cream from the van , which was also parked illegally , commenting , “ It looked like bribery .” He added that he had questioned the
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