A motorist has been ordered to pay a £120 fine after a hit-and-run driver shunted his legally parked car into a disabled bay.

Accountant Nick Baldwin, 26, said he parked his VW Golf in Sumatra Road on his way to work last month.

When he returned that evening he found the crash had not only left his wing mirror hanging off and the driver's door battered, but a Camden council warden had ticketed him.

Mr Baldwin said: "There was glass everywhere. It was obvious it had been hit really hard. I couldn't believe there was also a ticket on my windscreen." When he called the council he was told he needed a police report before it would investigate. That takes a month to compile, he said, and the deadline for the fine expires tomorrow, leaving him open to prosecution.

Mr Baldwin, who pays £80 for his annual resident's parking permit, said: "Everything with the parking department is a nightmare. They have to police these things but it should be done in a more reasonable way."

A spokeswoman for Camden said it was aware of the circumstances that led to the car being in the disabled bay but added that it was the responsibility of the motorist to appeal by giving written evidence as required by law.

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