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Parking wardens 'putting tickets machines out-of-order then fining drivers'
Last updated at 10:04am on 29th February 2008

An alleged parking swindle designed to trap unsuspecting motorists is being investigated by police.

Traffic wardens are accused of trapping motorists by putting "out-of-order" stickers on working meters - allowing drivers to park free - then later removing them and issuing fines.

Police are looking into a scam in the capital after a restaurateur in West London claims he was assaulted after confronting a warden whom he alleged had carried out the con trick on him twice in two days.

Rupert Baird-Murray, who runs Rosa's Dining Room, alleges he was first duped on 12 February after parking in at an "out-of-order" meter.

He returned to his car an hour later to find a parking fine and the sticker removed from the machine. When Mr Baird-Murray confronted the warden about the sticker, he denied its existence.

The next day he approached the warden again after allegedly seeing him remove another sticker from the same machine.

He said: "I saw him pull the sticker off. I said to him, 'You just took that sticker off '.

"He said, 'I don't know what you are talking about' but I could see it scrunched up in his hand.

"I said it was fraud and called the police. He started pushing against me with his scooter as I tried to stop him leaving."

Mr Baird-Murray, 36, was later accused of assaulting the warden after he fell off his scooter while trying to drive past the restaurateur over the pavement.

Both men were arrested and spent nine hours in a police cell. They have been bailed until next month.

Mr Baird-Murray is being backed by Karen Buck, Labour MP for Regent's Park and Kensington North, who is writing to Westminster council demanding an apology.

A Scotland Yard spokesman confirmed two men had been arrested at the scene for common assault after making allegations against each other.

He said: "There were allegations involving 'out-of-order' stickers. We are looking into it."

A spokesman for Westminster council said: "Any incident of inappropriate and unprofessional behaviour by a parking attendant will be fully investigated."

NCP, which employs the council's traffic wardens, defended its staff and said it had not yet been contacted by police.

A spokesman said: "Parking attendants have a very difficult job and from time to time people make allegations against them. They are there to enforce regulations appropriately and professionally."

AppealNow.com website, and founder Barrie Segal, which aims to repeal unfair parking fines, said local authorities are increasingly using the parking ticket "system" to raise money.

Mr Segal said: "5million parking tickets per annum could be illegal and unenforceable."

He said they had uncovered 62 scams from local authorities across the country including giving tickets to vehicles legally loading and unloading or delivering, clampers parking on yellow lines while they do personal shopping and claiming meters or bays are suspended and issuing parking tickets, with no evidence that the bays were suspended.

They have uncovered bizarre parking fine practices such as in Cambridge where at least two people were given parking fines for putting the Pay and Display ticket on their dashboard rather than on the windscreen.

In Dagenham, a disabled man was given a fine as the warden claimed a Poppy Appeal badge was partially covering his disability badge.

A spokesman for Westminster council said: "Any incident of inappropriate and unprofessional behaviour by a parking attendant will be fully investigated."

NCP, which employs the council's traffic wardens, defended its staff and said it had not yet been contacted by police.

A spokesman said: "Parking attendants have a very difficult job and from time to time people make allegations against them. They are there to enforce regulations appropriately and professionally."

They also don't allow you time to get TO the machine and get BACK to the vehicle to display it.
In fact, they've been seen hiding behind walls waiting for parkers to go and get the ticket, and then dashing-out to stick it on the vehicle.
It is what you get when you employ people with low intelligence a performance-related salary.