PARKING is one of our biggest gripes. It is pretty annoying to see people take up two parking spots or those who decide to dump their luxury vehicle blocking a driveway.

The point is, this is a common problem for everyone. We all suffer the consequences and it riles some people up more than others.

In the past few weeks we had some folk up in arms over parking on a pavement outside a town centre restaurant. Not the crime of the century as those responsible are simply being lazy more than anything else.

If you can’t be bothered walking 50 yards from a free car park to eat burger and chips then things are not looking good for the development of human civilisation.

We also have the folk who decide to park their cars fully on the pavement on the town’s busiest high street in Whalley Range. Again, this is due to lack of regard for other road users.

One is in such a hurry to get to Friday prayers but thinks God will forgive the fact that you caused misery to another person in the process.

And then we have the whole load of residents who park their vehicles on the pavements on Preston Old Road. I can understand why they do it. They don’t want their wing mirrors to be clipped by passing cars.

But why are we deciding to make a huge issue out of one set of illegal parking and not another?

The thing with us Brits is that we like to ram the idea that ‘the law is the law’ down everyone’s throats. You can’t be having one rule for one set of parkers and not another, or can you?

I am actually all for parking on pavements where it is necessary – like Preston Old Road. It if means that drivers and pedestrians are not inconvenienced then it would make sense not to.

I don’t think many of our inner-city streets were built for the number of vehicles.

But I am not permitted to think like this am I? To do this means that I am in some way endorsing illegal parking when I feel like it but not elsewhere.

Should I really be allowed to turn a blind eye when it does not matter to me?

It's being on the other end of a contentious refereeing decision. When it goes your way you couldn’t really care less. But when it doesn’t…then all hell breaks loose.