Helston mayor aghast at Remembrance Day fines
HELSTON Mayor Jonathan Radford-Gaby said he was "absolutely aghast" that parking tickets were meted out to drivers attending a Remembrance Day service at the town's parish church.
Mr Radford-Gaby was speaking at Helston Town Council's meeting on Thursday.
From the public gallery, Ivan Perry said: "It disturbed me that some people who attended the service were 'booked'.
"This service was for people who laid down their lives so we can have peace in the world."
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Mr Radford-Gaby said: "I was absolutely aghast when I read (of this)."
He conceded they were parked illegally, but said he understood the civil enforcement officers responsible had been present to ensure roads were kept clear for the subsequent Remembrace Day parades.
"I think rather too much weight was given to issuing tickets and not enough to keeping the roads clear."
Cornwall Council said no penalty charge notices were issued in Cornwall on Remembrance Sunday between at least 15 minutes before 11am and 15 minutes after 11am.
A spokesman added: "Remembrance Sunday is one of the busier Sundays in the calendar and our civil enforcement officers carried out an essential task in keeping the streets free for many of the church parades taking place around Cornwall and for the many elderly or disabled veterans seeking the opportunity to attend church on this important day."
On a more positive note there was praise for the number of people who gathered to witness the annual Remembrance Day parade through the town.
Mr Perry was particularly impressed by the number of young people who were there.
And Mr Radford-Gaby said he was "proud to be mayor of this town that so many members of the public turned out for the fantastic parade".
Comments
by josdave
Thursday, November 22 2012, 9:07AM
“If they were not causing any obstruction then it was a bit heavy handed on this day of all days but we don't know the full story and if any of those vehicles was not parked safely then the driver deserved to be booked.”