SWNS
In Harry Enfield and Paul Whitehouse's BBC comedy show there is a character called Parking Pataweyo who gets his kicks out of ambushing hapless motorists if they park for a second longer than the meter allows.
Well, he really exists – in Nottingham, where a jobsworth traffic warden slapped two £140 tickets on a couple of ambulances carrying disabled children - after the kids had sung in a charity carol concert.
The youngsters - many in wheelchairs - were being lifted into two specially-adapted minibuses when Parking Pataweyo wrote out two £70 penalty notices before swaggering away.
Disgusted Christmas shopppers captured the Scrooge-like scene in Lister Gate in Nottingham city centre.
Twelve children from Oak Field School and Sports College, Bilborough, Notts had returned from taking part in a lunchtime carol concert which raised £369.55 for a local homeless charity when they were hit with the fines.
Two minibuses parked in a loading bay to let the children on board when the official stuck a ticket on the windscreens.
The children's carers begged him to show some festive leniency, but the jobsworth official refused to back down, saying: "I'm just doing my job."
Gobsmacked resident Shelley Mawby, who witnessed the incident, said onlookers had tried to reason with the official but he wouldn't listen.
"A group of people gathered and were as shocked as me. When confronted, the warden said 'I'm just doing my job'. It was unbelievable," she said.
Office worker Wayne Rogers, who took photos of the ticketing, told The Sun: "I was so disgusted with the action of this person. I was not the only one and several other passers-by took pictures."
Headteacher David Stewart added: "It's the irony of it. The youngsters had all gone carol singing to raise money for Emmanuel House, which the city council has cut funding from, and then they ended up with a £140 fine.
"These children are also wheelchair users so trying to get them anywhere in the city is difficult; so it does take time. "An able-bodied person could be in and out of a bus in a second but we have to lift the wheelchair in and then make sure it's clamped.
"This is what was happening when the ticket was issued. People passing by just couldn't believe it was happening."
A City Council spokesman said: "We would like to apologise for these tickets being issued and we have revoked them.
"This was an isolated incident and further training will be given to the individual concerned, while all Civil Enforcement Officers will be reminded about the need to exercise discretion while carrying out their duties."