I noticed a letter with regards to the 'fine' applied to parking in a service area on a night when the weather was exceedingly poor. I write to say that I admire the gentleman for refusing to pay. Unfortunately, my son had a similar experience and he was out of the country for a month when the fine came so I just paid it in panic.

My son is 18 and driving from Wokingham to Bournemouth when he could hardly see with the rain. He pulled into the Winchester services and fell asleep. He had tried to look for somewhere to pay as he thought he would be over two hours but didn't find anywhere. The weather was so bad that you could not read the registration of the car on his entry to the services (in the photograph). I was so disgusted that he should be fined on such an evening as I agree with the gentleman who wrote to you and felt that my son had done the most sensible thing in pulling off and not getting into an accident. Especially as he is a young man, I felt that he was showing great maturity.

For his efforts of safe driving (or not driving in this case!) I paid the fine of £50. The company was CP Plus for British Parking Association. Surely this is a 'jobs worth', someone over doing the paper work in severe weather conditions? What would happen if you were snowed in at one of the service areas? Do they charge truckers parked at the side of the road waiting for the channel crossings when there are strikes and they can't board for days? What is the difference?