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Traffic warden tickets man as wife is dying
Last updated at 11:37am on 17.11.06
Warden: 'I've got a job to do'
A driver who pulled over to park the car when his wife had a fatal heart attack has been booked by traffic wardens.
The woman, in her seventies, had a cardiac arrest on her way to St John's Wood Medical Practice in north London.
Her husband, who was taking her to a doctor's appointment, was forced to stop on a yellow line outside the surgery as he called 999. He went with his dying wife in the ambulance as she was rushed to St Mary's Hospital in Paddington.
But the woman, who has not been named, was dead on arrival.
Her devastated husband returned to the surgery in tears to find he had been given a £50 parking ticket.
Wardens acted despite doctors displaying a notice in his windscreen explaining the emergency.
One local businessman said he pleaded with the warden. Gary Mulreay, who owns St John's Barbers a few doors away, said: "I was there to help get this poor woman out of the car and to administer CPR. When the wardens came along we told them what had happened.
"But one issued a ticket anyway. I was absolutely stunned. He actually said, 'It's not my problem, I've got a job to do'."
A spokesman for Westminster council, which employs the NCP firm of wardens, said the ticket had now been cancelled.
Reader views (10)
Here's a sample of the latest views published.
One word, no actually two; appalling and insensitive. Westminister Council should be big enough to send out an apology considering the circumstances.
- Sean, middx
It was a sad day indeed when Traffic Wardens stopped being employees of the police service, although we didn't realise it at the time. Once upon a time, the whole point of wardens was to keep traffic flowing and not be party to a revenue-collecting scam. Even now, I believe wardens do actually have some discretion but it seems their commission is more important than traffic flow.
- Lmd, London
That is so sad. My father is a doctor and while on call and helping a patient who needed urgent assistance he was clamped. They refused to help him unless he paid up, even though he had another urgent call. It is ridiculous that wardens seem to have no respect for the fact that we know the rules, but sometimes life is more important.
- Rachel, London
I think that Traffic Wardens should be
done away with.
- Deb, UK
I would have done more than sack him
- Bill, BARROWCUMBRIA
I'm not surprised - which in itself speaks volumes. I had to pick up a prescription some time ago and was out of my car for a maximum of 3 minutes. I was parked in a 20 minute waiting zone and left immediately I'd collected the prescription. I even appealed, unsuccessfully.
- Bridget, London
Obviously this is private enterprise at its best - get the money whatever the cost and we as a company will count our mega profits. No investment on how to train their staff to try and understand the various situations that will undoubtedly arise on a day to day basis or better still at the interview stage try to ascertain if the candidate for Warden has a brain.
- Chris , Stoke on Trent, England
I think cancelling the ticket is the least Westminster Council can do. The traffic warden should have been sacked.
- Lisa, London
Traffic wardens are people who have sold their souls to the devil so why are you surprised? They've ticketed a car with a dead person in the driving seat and ticketed a lorry that got stuck in a pot hole.
- Kenny, Hampstead, London
It's a pity the statement from Westminster didn't say "the ticket has been cancelled and the heartless idiot who issued it has been sacked".
- Andy, London
