You can guarantee that the one thing that will outrage the British public more than anything is hypocrisy.

And this was a classic case where a council worker was was captured in a photograph parked on double yellow lines. I have to admit that I felt he council response was less than satistfactory.

SCARBOROUGH Council’s parking regulations have been branded “hypocritical” after a parking attendant returned to a council vehicle on double yellow lines.

The council has defended the worker’s actions, claiming his vehicle was on “official business”.

Jeff Bond, a 49-year-old falconer from Burton upon Trent, Staffordshire, who is currently facing a County Court summons and a £95 fine after visiting Scarborough in February, said everyone should be treated equally.

He said: “I’d use that picture in my defence. If he’s on double yellow lines and he is parked then he should be given a ticket. It’s double standards.”

Mr Bond was initially given his parking ticket after parking at the back of Swan Hill Road but he claimed the double yellow lines were illegal because they had too many breaks in the paint, no T-bars and no signs informing people of the restrictions.

John Riby, Scarborough Council’s head of technical services, said he was aware of Mr Bond’s case but could not comment on individual cases.

He added: “The civil enforcement officer concerned was engaged in operational activities for which dispensation is permitted under the regulations.

“But I would agree that the way the vehicle was parked was not appropriate and steps have been taken to ensure all enforcement officers are reminded to exercise due care.”

Scarborough Council now has 16 full-time civil enforcement officers who patrol the streets between 8am and 8pm every day – longer than before the new regulations came into force.

They work in shifts and use cameras and hand-held computers to help gather evidence for penalty notices and fines range from £50 to £70.

The council reduces this by half if the motorist pays up without question.

The new regulations were introduced by the council in April after the Government said local authorities must impose harsher penalties on motorists.

The civil enforcement officers’ new powers, which were introduced on April 1, mean they can:

• Inform police of criminal traffic acts;
• Report abandoned vehicles;
• Report vehicles with no valid tax disc;
• Do on-street enforcement surveys;
• Manage on-street parking places, traffic coning and builders’ skips;
• Inspect and report defects in parking signs and equipment;
• Issue warning and information leaflets, provide witness statements and appear before adjudicators.

From the Scarborough Evening News on Thursday, July 31, 2008.