Along came a police car and parked on the double yellows, causing slight problems for the buses to pass.

Out got the two officers, one WPC and a PC, and queued up for an ice-cream.

Along came a Smurf (parking enforcement officer).

Did he give them a ticket like he would any other road user?

No, of course not, just waved at the officers and no doubt sneaked off to catch a mother with screaming hot kids and a lot of shopping who's a few minutes over her allotted parking time.

Anyway, after a couple more buses crept past the police vehicle the officers, having purchased (no doubt deserved) their 99s, got back into their police vehicle and, you will not believe this, but YEP, whilst enjoying their 99s drove off (and I do mean the driver), obviously to catch someone driving without due care and attention enjoying the sea views.

Now on the Friday before this I was parked in the loading bay in Liverpool Terrace at 17.05 waiting to pick up my wife, thinking this would be okay as I was not on the yellows and everywhere was closing and no lorries were waiting to unload.

This has happened before, and a Smurf who is obviously very aware of how to bend the rules slightly to help drivers and not antagonise them, informed me that if I drove round into the empty loading bay to wait for my wife it would be helpful to other road users.

But, he said, if a lorry did appear to want to unload, unfortunately I would have to move on.

No problems at all with that. He was polite and helpful.

This time two dour Smurfs walked up to me and told me to move on as it was a loading bay.

I told them in a couple of minutes my wife would be here but "NO", rules were rules.

I told them that it was after 5pm and no lorries were about to unload and I thought I was being helpful by waiting in the loading bay for that very reason, but they said the rules were the rules and I must move on.

Their manner was abrasive and confrontational.

And they wonder why they cannot build a rapport with the public?

We do understand the difficult job they have, and the sound reasoning behind it, but for goodness sake, Smurfs, get a life and learn how to work with the public, not against them.

So I drove off fuming, a car pulled out from a parking space, I pulled in, and bought a ticket for 20 minutes just as my wife arrived.

So at least the Smurfs gained 20p for nothing for the local council to use for areas apart from road use.

Two stories on how the authorities abuse their powers against the tax paying public.

Who says life is not fair!

M K O'Connor
By email

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