ON Easter Sunday, I drove through Dunham Massey around 10am on the way to visit my mother’s grave at Dunham Lawn Cemetery on the morning of my birthday.

The weather had been cold, wet and windy but was just dying down a little. Not really a day for visiting the Dunham Park so early.

I was surprised to see so many cars parked but then I realised it was for the Easter Sunday service at St. Mark’s Church.

To my horror, I saw that a car had been issued with a parking ticket.

I drove on for a while but then thought I needed to say something so turned around and located the Enforcement Officer.

We had a conversation which was not aggressive or overly heated about the rights and wrongs of the situation.

Yes, the car was on double yellow lines, but it's not like he was causing an obstruction, endangering pedestrians or subjecting anybody to the slightest inconvenience.

His words were to the effect that, it is not in his power to use common sense and that it was the wishes of the residents and local authority that he should issue parking fines.

Maybe that is so - but surely not during a church service on such an important day as Easter Sunday.

I am sure the residents are glad of the church and the benefits it brings to the community and would not wilfully penalise an individual (who I do not know by the way) who may have been a little late arriving - and possibly in inclement weather.

So, it seems to me that Trafford is seeking to raise income at every opportunity.

Shame on Trafford Council on such a religious day.

Sue and Mike Pich,
Bowdon