DIAMOND wedding couple Eric and Marjorie Holstead should have been celebrating in style.

But when they went to collect a cake to mark the occasion they were given a parking ticket - despite having their disabled badge on show.

To make matters worse, the warden who handed out the fine also parked on double yellow lines.

Eric and Marjorie said the incident had `ruined their celebration'. Staff from Occasion Cakes in Bolton accused the parking attendant of `hypocrisy' - and took photographs of his parked moped to prove it.

But Bolton council said the fine was issued correctly because Marjorie and Eric had failed to set the clock on the disabled badge.

It said badge holders were allowed to park on double yellow lines for only three hours, and the clock must be set.

Grandmother-of-four Marjorie, 84, a retired typist and book-keeper, of Markland Hill, Bolton, said: "I was nearly in tears. It has ruined our diamond wedding anniversary.

"When I eat that cake I will think about it. It is hard enough getting things done when you get old, even though you have been active all your life.

"It was just dreadful and the warden was as cold as ice." Shop worker Clare Nuttall, 26, who rushed out to take the photos, said: "It was completely out of order. The warden was parked on double yellow lines, which would make him a bit of a hypocrite. The couple were clearly disabled and were only in the shop for two minutes."

Marjorie and Eric, 85, are celebrating their 60 years of marriage with a party for family and friends at the De Vere Whites Hotel near the Reebok Stadium at Horwich next month.

They parked their car beside the shop in Mortfield Lane, off Chorley Old Road, but were forced to move it slightly on to double yellow lines because builders were shifting a skip.

Eric, who served with the RAF during the war, displayed his blue badge in the windscreen but did not set the clock.

A Bolton council spokesman said: "Attendants are permitted to park on double yellow lines while dealing with an offence.

"As always, the complainants have the right to appeal to the council."

The M.E.N reported two weeks ago how Coronation Street star Antony Cotton managed to persuade wardens in Manchester to withdraw a ticket after he parked in a bay on Queen Street, because the ticket machine did not work.

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