A car which catches vehicles parked illegally has itself been flouting the law as you can see from our exclusive pictures.

Sutton Councils Smart Car parks up in areas in areas which are hotspots for illegal parking and then catches them doing it using hidden cameras.

However, as this picture shows, the driver of the vehicle has been catching drivers by parking illegally themselves.

The little white vehicle can often be seen parked in Assembly Walk on double yellow lines with curb markings, and also on Neville Walk.

Geoff Christian, an angry resident said: "This Smart car has CCTV fitted to catch cars illegally parked as a means of obtaining income for Sutton Council. I do not think it is fair to catch other drivers by parking illegally and would like this to be stopped."

Mr Christian added that he would like to see all the people that have had fines as result of the work of the Smart car should be refunded.

Coun Simon Wales, the councils transport spokesman, said: "The council has received numerous complaints from residents about people illegally parking their cars in Neville Walk and Assembly Walk.

Foot patrol officers were proving ineffective so the car was used to deal with problems in the area, and has successfully reduced parking offences.

"Although Civil Enforcement Officers are covered by national legislation which allows them to pull over and wait in restricted parking areas when this is necessary for them to carry out their duties, we have specifically requested that they do not double park to do so unless absolutely necessary.

Due to persistent parking violations and a lack of other places for the enforcement vehicle to stop, we are satisfied that on this occasion there was no alternative."