A cabbie has hit out at traffic wardens who lumbered him with a parking fine while he took a quick snooze in a Swindon car park.
Disgruntled driver Steve Woodwards had begun his early morning shift with United Radio Cars at 3.45am on Friday, and had pulled over to refresh with a stint of shut-eye shortly before 7am, the Swindon Advertiser reports.
Woodwards admitted he forgot to purchase the required 90p parking ticket but is adamant that before issuing the £50 fine, the warden should have checked he was just indulging a much-needed kip - and was not actually unconscious or dead.
"This person had no consideration as to whether I was alive - I could have been in a coma or seriously ill," Woodwards said.
"This just shows these traffic wardens aren't concerned about people's welfare, all they are interested in is the money."
Small print on the reverse of the ticket stated that the issuing warden had to watch the car for three minutes before allotting the penalty.
"They must have been completely silent because when you are just dozing, the slightest noise can wake you up," the cabbie objected.
Woodwards has confirmed that he does intend to immediately pay the fine - which he considers justified - but also contends the way in which it was issued as "stupid".
And it's not the first time that a traffic warden's perception of a driver's consciousness has hit the news recently.
An American ex-driver - who was taken to be asleep by a warden - was issued a fine when he had in fact passed away in his car a few hours earlier.
