Fury as cars abandoned in terror atrocity are ticketed
TRAFFIC wardens slapped parking tickets on cars within minutes of the police cordon around London’s Borough Market being lifted yesterday.
Wardens were shooed away as they tried to ticket cars which had been left in the area since Saturday night’s terror attack.
It was the second time in four days that wardens had been caught preying on those caught up in terror atrocities.
Police began removing the Borough Market cordon in stages yesterday, with motorists saying they were told to pick up their cars from 8am.
One motorist said that within minutes, wardens had started slapping parking tickets on vehicles.
The motorist said he received an email from the Metropolitan Police at 8am telling him he could come and collect his car, but by 8.05am vehicles were being given fines of up to £130.
Massimo Ricciardi, 47, manager of Giuseppe’s restaurant on Borough High Street, said his boss was almost issued with a ticket. ‘It’s unbelievable – the car was there since Saturday. He could not come because nobody can come inside, how could he have moved the car?’ he told The Sun.
‘This morning he could not come because he lives far away. The mind of some people – they are not compassionate. Come on.’ Hundreds of cars were abandoned when police set up the cordon on Saturday night.
Transport for London yesterday apologised for the fines, saying it made an ‘insensitive mistake’, and pledged to cancel them. It is understood there will be parking wardens in the area for the rest of the week, but no cars that have been parked within the cordon will be fined.
On Sunday, wardens outside Old Trafford in Manchester were filmed ticketing cars left by people attending Ariana Grande’s One Love tribute concert.
Angry cab driver Robbie Aden told a parking officer: ‘People died down the road a couple of weeks ago and you are giving them tickets – you are not human.’