BROADCASTER Stuart Hall has hit out at parking wardens after he and fellow mourners were slapped with tickets during a packed funeral for a respected journalist.
He was among four people given £70 fines after they parked near St Philip's Church in Alderley Edge, Cheshire, ahead of the service for former M.E.N. columnist Duncan Measor.
The 400 mourners included colonels and admirals, Coronation Street's William Roach and various entrepreneurs.
Hall, of Prestbury Road, Alderley Edge, gave the eulogy at the service on Monday.
He threatened to block the roads in protest before Cheshire East Council decided to cancel the fines.
Beautiful service
"It's obscene," said Hall. "It was obvious we were mourners but we were all done. Cars were parked neatly and not causing an obstruction.
"It ruined a beautiful service for a wonderful man."
Hall claimed parking wardens were `killing Wilmslow and Alderley Edge'.
Grandfather Mr Measor, who lived at Horseshoe Lane, was 85 when he died at his Anglesey holiday home. He was known as `Mr Manchester' for his daily M.E.N. column.
His daughter Jane Hall said: "My dad would have been horrified. People left after a wonderful service and it's terrible they came out to that. It was clear a funeral was going on."
The council confirmed four tickets were issued to mourners. A spokesman said: "We are sympathetic to mourners and in the case of a large funeral we can make provision for mourners to park but we need prior notice and didn't have any in this case.
"The officer checked this before issuing the tickets. We will cancel these penalties and extend our sympathies to the mourners."
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Yet another case of media pressure… would these tickets have been cancelled had the M.E.N. not got involved? I think not.
If these people were parked illegally then they should get a ticket and it should stand.
The council needs to get a backbone
Why the story if the fines were cancelled ? Is this article intimating the fines were more outrageous because "admirals, colonels and Bill Roache" were there instead of Joe public ?
I wonder what would have happened had it not been a celebrity involved? There is ample parking around there for people to park legally. Also, as the council said, they would have made provision had they received prior notice. I don't see why the tickets should have been cancelled.
People are trying to pay their respects then a nasty council does this;it is SICK! And as for Mike S saying the parking tickets shouldn't have been cancelled, are you so low as to want this?
Why is it that Parking Wardens do not appear to have any common sense? This little farce has cost the Manchester rate payers a lot of money - why cannot we take it out of the wages of the unthinking Parking Warden.
Lets get it right about illegal parking. This is anywhere where they can paint a yellow line, in many circumstances not to prevent obstruction but as a money making exercise by your Council.
Parking attendants are there to issue as many tickets as they can without using common sense. As a large percentage will pay rather then fight a ticket. Because the system makes sure it will cost more if you do.
I used to work in Alderley Edge for a few years and there were NO traffic wardens... we used to get away with parking in 30 minute bays for the day... that went on for a couple of years and we had the understanding of if we ever did get a ticket the cost of it had heavily outweighed the cost of paying to park in the car park...
"Why is it that Parking Wardens do not appear to have any common sense?"
Most likely because this would lead to different wardens making different calls on a situation, closely follwed by the loophole laywers pouncing, getting clients off due to inconsistency of appliction of the rules
I received a fine for not parking between the lines in a parking bay.
However there was snow on the ground and I couldn't see the lines.
When the warden came around the snow had started to melt. Hence the fine!!!!!!!!!!
Two inaccuracies appear in the story. One the reference to Mr Hall as a 'star', the second is the inference that journalists are to be respected. As others have said it appears that these 'stars' and 'big wigs' think they are above the law.
Anthony, had they informed the council beforehand this wouldn't have happened but they didn't bother to. Alternatively, they should have turned up 10 minutes earlier and parked somewhere legally. My main gripe is that it seems the tickets were issued legally and I bet they wouldn't have cancelled them had there not been celebrities involved, and I use the term "celebrity" in the loosest sense of the word...
If wardens want to rake it in by issuing loads of tickets take a trip along Cheetham Hill road on a daily basis, you'll have a field day with the amount of illegally parked cars there obstructing the flow of traffic and obstructing pedestrians by parking on the pavement!
As a person who has a friend in the parking ticket business (in Kent). The wardens work for private companies and set daily targets of 45 to 60 per day. The companies retain a %age of the revenues collected so they are in the revenue business as opposed to the common sense business.
Failure to "be aware and vigilant" will mean the wardens fail to reach target and hence fail to get paid decent commission on the tickets issued above their quota. So if I was paid by the ticket then I'd be issuing them like crazy as and where ever I could. I would not care not one jot whether Mr Hall was grieving the loss of a friend or buying a lottery ticket. Not my problem, there is a higher form of worship in the country now that comes in £5, £10 and £20 denominations. Also have you noticed that the contract wardens dont live in the town they patrol for obvious reasons. Its not a law & order issue its money....deal with it.
Why should they be let off just because they are all minor celebrities. Why do the residents of Alderley Edge and Wilmslow think they are something special. Bet your bottom dollar if the service had been in Collyhurst the tickets wouldn't have been cancelled.
Oh my heart bleeds. As a holder of a driving licence, it is your duty to obey the signs and lines of the highway. If you can't do that - they you should expect any and all punishment that comes your way.
These minor celebrities come out of the woodwork when these things hit them but we all have to live by the same laws love them or hate them if you have a driving licence abide by the parking laws or get a fine ,its that simple just because you are going to a funeral or a minor celeb dosnt change laws.
Joe LL.. Please think. This was in Cheshire and nothing to do with Manchester. How has it cost Manchester rate payers anything?
If the parking wardens in Manchester want more money get along to Whitworth Street West in the city centre where hundreds of black cabs park illegally outside the ranks every day. There is thousands of pounds to be raised there.
These Council Dick Turpins will book anybody no matter what the situation and to ticket people at a funeral is despicable.
Its time to draw the line and retrain you brainless heartless wardens.
Manchester City Council prides it self on care in the community
what a laugh, they are just money grabbers who take advantage of peolple who sometimes get caught out in desperate and sad situations.
Good old Stuart, I say !
I remember him appearing at a function a few years ago and some wag stood up waving a packet of pork sausages. People can be so cruel...
When during the last 12 years did public servants become public masters? Where are the boiled frog aficionados?
The class warriors are out in force on this thread I see.
It doesn't matter who got the tickets. A little bit of respect doesn't go amiss when a funeral is taking place.
nyb, ex manc
Does not respect for the law come into your idea of respect? When there are signs and double yellow lines is it respectful to the law to park on them.Respect works both ways.
If you park on double yellow lines you're likely to get a ticket, pretty simple, how is this news??
The threat by Hall to block Cheshire East's roads just shows what an utterly selfish individual this person is. That he is willing to inconvenience other people going from A-B just because he and his friends could not be bothered to a) find a legal spot to park or b) inform said council of the funeral.
I would suggest Hall's time be better employed by him contacting a coach company or taxi company to arrange transport to and from future events if parking is such a problem for him.
I think its sending out terrible signals if these offenders get away with law-breaking just because they are 'celebs' attending a funeral.