A driver was left spitting feathers when he returned to his parked car to find it had been hit by a van, knocking it on to the pavement.
But bemused Hugh Tuckerman was even more amazed to find a traffic warden busily writing out a £60 parking ticket for the pranged Skoda.
And despite bystanders on the scene in Edinburgh who explained the sequence of events, the warden refused to reconsider, leaving the hapless Tuckerman facing the process of getting the fine annulled.
The Daily Mail reports that the initial incident took place when a van that was unloading bottles rolled forward into the car.
Despite causing only minor damage, the driver left his details and a description of what had happened - but it didn't deter the parking attendant.
Tuckerman said: "I know they have a job to do, but there's a level of sensitivity which needs to be addressed when dealing with exceptional cases like this.
"Who would deliberately park like that?
"It's just unbelievable."
Meanwhile, The Telegraph reports another incident of eagle-eyed officialdom, in which motorist Harold James received a ticket when the rear wheel of his car was found to be touching the perimeter line of a space - despite the fact that a three-inch covering of snow was obscuring the markings when he parked it.
