A PARKING attendant who gave the wife of a disabled man a ticket for parking just six inches outside a designated bay in Loughton has been branded "totally out of order" by the couple.

Lindsey Richell, 38, was with her husband, Neale, 43, when the ticket was issued by the council's parking contractor, Vinci Park outside Loughton Library, Traps Hill.

She only began driving after her husband was registered disabled due to severe back problems about 18 months ago.

The Richells parked their Toyota Space Cruiser in one of three disabled bays next to the public toilets but were forced to leave its front wheels just inches out of the bay.

She returned from the toilet with her husband to find the attendant had issued a £30 parking ticket.

Mrs Richell, of Highland Avenue, Loughton, said: "This traffic warden looked like he was taking a picture of the car. When we got closer I realised he had given us a ticket.

"I asked him why and he said the front wheels were over the yellow hatching in front of the space. He said he had seen the disabled badge but even that didn't make any difference. He was being a bit of a jobsworth. After all, we were just inches out of the parking space and I had nowhere else to park."

Mrs Richell added: "The car behind me was parked badly so its wheels were actually in the bay where I put the car so I simply never had the chance to park fully in that space."

Mrs Richell has since visited the offices of Vinci Park to dispute the validity of the ticket. She said: "They told us to put our complaints in writing. We're just waiting for them to make a decision which will probably take a week to ten days. But if we can get a ticket for something like this, I don't think anybody is safe."

Epping Forest Council, which contracts Vinci Park to control parking following the decriminalisation of parking in the district in October 2002, has said it cannot comment about the case because the details relating to the issuing of the ticket are covered by the Data Protection Act.