A DEAR friend of mine who cleans commercial shop windows in Bishop Auckland town centre has just had his appeal to a parking ticket refused.

I myself, having contracts with various shops, also have recently had to pay a parking fine whilst cleaning out a manhole outside one shop.

Does anyone on this earth, actually know why traffic wardens were introduced in the 1960s in town centres? Do the wardens, themselves even know?

They were introduced to keep the business fraternity and town centres running smoothly, not as a cash cow for local authorities.

Not for preferential treatment for businesses, but for discretionary judgement by the wardens, for work to be allowed to be carried out in a reasonably quick way.

Discretion is subjective, we know that, but with some local knowledge and common sense of the businesses this can be achieved as it always was in previous years, to keep the town centres running smoothly and efficiently to allow them to thrive and stay open to pay taxes and not to drive them out of town.

Mario Rea, Bishop Auckland