FOLLOWING the letter entitled 'We need to watch the wardens' in the Chronicle of January 22, many local residents contacted the writer to express their full approval and support of what was stated.
And many thanks to the popular and much-improved Chronicle for highlighting this burning issue of the day.
These residents, including OAPs, have had the bitter and annoying experience of having their cars wrongly slapped with penalty charge notices by what can aptly be described as 'overzealous' wardens.
While a crackdown by traffic wardens on irresponsible motorists who deliberately flout parking regulations is wholly justified, their undue harassment of lawabiding motorists is not.
That this deplorable situation exists not only in Hounslow but appears to be prevalent throughout London is apparent in statistics obtained under the Freedom of Information Act, which reveal an astonishingly high number of fines having been unfairly and unjustly imposed by traffic wardens.
So much so that when challenged, Harrow Council alone has been forced to cancel 3,400 tickets issued in error, and several other councils agreeing to refund more than £3million in penalties, some going back to 2004 (Daily Mail report of October 25, 2008).
KRISHAN DUTT Hounslow
