Features

Returning to your car to find a fixed penalty notice and the prospect of a £60 fine is enough to put a dampener on anyone's day.

The authorities in charge of regulating parking would, however, argue that fines are only given to those who break the law, so there can be few complaints if and when offenders are caught out.

But have you ever spotted a police or council vehicle parked illegally, without a penalty fixed beneath its windscreen wipers, and thought that life isn't fair?

Citizen on patrol

Mark Murphy was walking past Ipswich Police Station on a Wednesday night in September when he spotted a police car parked on double yellow lines.

The vehicle was three quarters of the way on the pavement, making it harder for pedestrians to pass, and was parked close to a junction.

Mark took the above photo and carried on his way. But when he set off on his return journey two hours later he noticed that the vehicle hadn't moved - reducing the likelihood that it was parked there whilst attending an emergency.

So in the name of all those who have felt this injustice before him, the following day Mark took the photo to Tim Beech, Southern Area Commander at police, and asked for an explanation.

"It's dreadful," Mr Beech said. "I know from what you said that the van was out there for two hours.

"I haven't had a look at it to find out exactly why it might or might not have been there but it shouldn't have been there as far as I can see.

"We have tried to enforce that [parking] around the police station, as it has been an issue, and I have spent a considerable amount of time trying to move people in their private cars away from the police station so we can park all of the operational vehicles."

"I will follow it up. It's a straight forward clear message - we shouldn't be doing it."

Setting a good example

As well as looking into this instance, Mr Beech said he wants the council to show no favouritism towards the police: "We shouldn't be enforcing parking regulations and breaking them at the same time.

It doesn't look any better from behind

"We've spent some time and encouraged IBC (Ipswich Borough Council), who now do the parking enforcement around Ipswich, if our cars are parked inappropriately then they have ticketed us. And I've got to say we've had to pay them and I'm completely at ease with that.

"There are occasions when we do park on double yellows when we need to - there's an operational need to do that and that's fair enough.

"But when those occasions aren't there and we do park indiscriminately then I expect people to be ticketed and probably and possibly subject to discipline.

"I can say that just recently we have disciplined one of our own officers for parking in a disabled bay outside the police station."

The final word

We'll have to wait and see if Mark Murphy's one man crusade will have a lasting effect in Suffolk. Mr Beech has promised to help clamp down on the issue, but he also made an appeal for the public to play their part.

"Parking, the enforcement of it, whether it's in disabled bays or on double yellows is about consideration for other people and I expect police officers -probably above anybody else in town - to behave with consideration for other road users.

"If we set a bad example other people use that against us and spend their time writing to me, and I have to spend time either finding out what it was about or writing back to them and I don't want to be in that position.

"And it's wrong in the first place."