A parking firm who allowed one of their attendants to issue a parking ticket to an ambulance has been suspended from carrying out patrols after the story made news yesterday, July 25.
The traffic warden issued the ticket while paramedics had parked up outside a supermarket in Northwich, Cheshire, to grab a bottle of water.
The firm which owns the car park outside the Tesco Express – London and Cambridge Properties (LCP) – employs Euro Parking Services to manage the land for them, according to The Sun.
Now, LCP have suspended patrols and enforcement in the car park, saying they were ‘very disappointed’ that members of the ambulance service had ‘an issue’ with the parking officer.
Euro Parking Services have also apologised, saying the ticket should not have been given out in the first place.
They have reportedly personally apologised to the paramedics and will be making a donation to their charity as a gesture of goodwill.
The incident occurred when the paramedics, taking their first break in eight hours, parked on double yellow lines outside the supermarket as they didn’t want to park in a disabled space.
Undeterred, the warden proceeded to issue a ticket to the ambulance, which was still on duty at the time.
The shocking incident was captured by a 47-year-old cameraman, called Ian, who’d been picking his daughter up from school.
Ian, who stepped in to defend the emergency workers, later said:
I felt so strongly about the unfairness of what was happening that I started filming on my iPhone, hoping to bring attention to what was happening to the hardworking paramedics.
I believe they were just collecting some food and water eight hours into their shift.
It’s a private parking firm working for the landlord, who I believe owns the car park and the businesses around it.
The parking enforcement signs were only installed a few weeks ago. The locals are not happy about it, nor are some of the businesses.
You can watch the baffling scenes for yourself below:
The footage shows the warden issuing the ticket while Ian and a female emergency worker attempt to change his mind.
An exasperated Ian can be heard trying to explain to the warden how the ambulance staff were on call, but to no avail.
The parking pedant was having none of it, smugly pointing out:
It’s not on call – she was having lunch. Where’s the sirens?
They are getting some food so they are not on call are they?
The female paramedic then steps in to ask whereabouts she should park the ambulance, as it was not possible to squeeze it into any of the spaces, aside from the disabled bays.
She explained:
I’ve been on since quarter to seven this morning. I’ve had nothing to drink and nothing to eat, and now I’d like to go to Tesco to get some water.
However, the warden remained unshakeable in his hard-line parking philosophy, and continued to issue the fine.
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Charlie Cocksedge is a journalist and sub-editor at UNILAD. He graduated from the University of Manchester with an MA in Creative Writing, where he learnt how to write in the third person, before getting his NCTJ. His work has also appeared in such places as The Guardian, PN Review and the bin.