Traffic wardens are rarely known for bending the rules when it comes to parking laws, but one warden from Manchester went beyond the call of duty after ticketing a taxi that had crashed and was waiting for roadside assistance.
A video posted on YouTube shows the unnamed traffic warden ticketing the taxi cab, which had clearly been involved in an accident in Manchester city centre.
Cabbie Mohammed Arif can be heard trying to reason with the unnamed warden. “I’m not speaking to you,” the warden says. “The cabbie, who filmed the event on his phone, replies: “You do realise I’ve had an accident?”
“You’re not allowed to video me, thank you,” the warden says before pushing the phone away. “I asked you not to video me.” She then lashes out at the man.
Things go from bad to worse as the ensuing scuffle nearly ends up with a passer-by threatening to intervene, who tells the cabbie ‘not to hit a woman’.
“You tried to hit me. That’s assault, I’ve got a red mark … I’ve got a bruise on my arm,” the warden exclaims, to which Arif replies: “You do realise my vehicle is not movable. I can’t move the vehicle.” He then points the phone towards the clearly damaged car.
The video, which has been seen more than one million times, has divided opinion. Some have defended the warden for doing her job, while others have accused her of being a jobsworth and for not explaining her actions.
Whichever side you are on, she was going against Manchester council rules. A spokesperson said: “We have clear guidelines and our traffic wardens are instructed not to issue parking tickets in circumstances where motorists have been forced to park following road traffic accidents.
“In this case, a ticket clearly should not have been given and if one was issued it will not be enforced. We are now reviewing the incident along with our contractors at NSL.”
Reports say the warden has resigned from her position in the wake of the video going viral. It is unclear what caused the original crash.
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