Nick Knowles sparks parking row after shaming wardens who ticket people visiting Christmas markets | The Sun
NICK Knowles sparked a heated parking row after shaming traffic wardens for ticketing Christmas shoppers.
The DIY SOS star criticised two councils for enforcing restrictions while hard-up Brits support local businesses.
The 60-year-old said a "whole row" of vehicles left on a single yellow line were slapped with the dreaded yellow slips after attending a lights switch-on and festive fair in Gloucestershire at the weekend.
Knowles wrote on Twitter alongside a photo of one of the Penalty Charge Notices: "Congrats Cirencester and Gloucester Councils.
"You hold an Xmas fayre to get shoppers into town and when they do and car parks are full you ticket everyone parked on a single yellow on a Sunday, whole rows of them.
"Hell of a way to support local businesses by driving people away."
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His post divided opinion, with some siding with the TV presenter and others saying motorists should simply not park illegally.
One user said: "My wife is a traffic warden. The towns where she patrols that have a Christmas market advise not to ticket unless parked dangerously.
"Seems some areas aren't as sensible."
Another, Mark Stewart, agreed, adding: "And they wonder why the high streets are dying.
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"Not enough parking, car parks too expensive, and draconian parking penalties."
A third, Tom Arkell, chimed in: "It's utterly ridiculous isn't it?
"Surely a bit of common sense [is needed]. We should be encouraging people to visit small towns not penalising them."
But Lloyd Warren said he struggled to find Knowles' point because "a car is parked illegally so should be appropriately fined".
Ian Roberts also replied, saying: "How entitled do you have to be to think it's an outrage that you're punished for breaking the law?
"If you don't want a ticket, park legally – it's not complicated."
But Knowles, best known for home improvement series DIY SOS, hit back with: "How angry do you have to be to call someone entitled without reading their tweets properly to see that it wasn’t my car I was talking about?
"Do you family have to put up with your daily cynicism and miserable attitude?"
He also responded to another user, Greg Thomas, who said he "struggled to sympathise", by calling him a "cynical grouch".
"Perhaps instead of being a cynical grouch with a chip on your shoulder you might empathise with traders trying to get shoppers into town centres? Just a thought," he tweeted.
Knowles' original post has so far racked up more than 27,000 likes, and 2,300 retweets.
Cotswold District Council Joe Harris said: "No one is being penalised for visiting the town – parking is free in all Cirencester car parks on Sundays.
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"This is a ticket for breaking an on-street parking regulations such as yellow lines, no return within 1 hour etc."
The Sun has approached the county council comment.
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Can you park on a single yellow line?
YES, and no. It depends on the rules for the area you're in.
Always check the sign next to the lines you are parking on – and read it very carefully.
You're not allowed to park during the times displayed on the road sign, though you can outside of them.
For example, if the sign says 8am-6pm, you can leave your car there after 6pm, providing you move it before 8am.
If there is no sign or time plate, you should assume you can't park there at any time.
And don't assume that the rules don't apply on Sundays or Bank Holidays as this is often not the case.
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