An angry Tooting funeral director took these pictures of a traffic warden who ignored requests not to slap parking tickets on a funeral cortege.

Andrew Gillman, manager of Gillman Funeral Service, resorted to grabbing his camera when a warden targeted six of his limousines last Thursday morning in Garratt Lane.

The vehicles were parked outside the company's head office and were being loaded with flowers for a funeral.

However, that did not stop the warden issuing £100 parking fines on two of the limos, despite pleas not to from staff and passersby.

Mr Gillman said: "I asked the warden to have some respect and people passing by shouted at him, saying he should be ashamed, but he just carried on.

"The cars weren't obstructing traffic and if I hadn't got the camera then he would have happily slapped tickets on them all."

After the warden left Mr Gillman contacted Wandsworth Council and the fines were cancelled.

However, he said the tickets should not have been issued in the first place and suggested that discretion should be employed in such circumstances.

"I have to deal with parking matters all the time," said Mr Gillman. "At our shop in Balham our cars are always being caught by the red route camera. I appeal every time but only win about half.

"We get fined if our vehicles go into bus lanes or if they stop on red routes but when it comes to a funeral we have to put the family and deceased first. If that means stopping on a red route to let the family catch up with the hearse then so be it."

Mr Gillman said the number of fines the company receives does make him consider moving but having operated in Tooting for 100 years, he does not see why the business should.

"It is very difficult operating a funeral business in London. No parking bays are big enough for limos. I'd rather spend my time serving bereaved families rather than fighting fines."

He added: "We're not asking to be allowed to break the law - we would just like to see some discretion and exemptions put in place."

A spokesman for Wandsworth Council said: "The council's policy is to not give parking tickets to cars that are clearly connected with funerals, even if they are parked illegally - as these vehicles were in this case.

"The parking attendant concerned has been spoken to and reminded of this policy. When the funeral director telephoned us later that day, we immediately cancelled the two tickets."

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