HEREFORDSHIRE Council has apologised to a motorist who was given a prompt parking ticket in Commercial Road, Hereford.

The motorist, who does not wish to be named, parked outside Planet Buffet at 6.45pm, where there is a sign saying drivers can park from 7am to 7pm for one hour.

Another sign above says that only taxis can park there from 7pm to 7am the following morning.

The motorist got back to her car at 7pm and was surprised to find a parking attendant writing a ticket, which had a time of 7pm on the ticket.

She questioned whether this was valid as the sign states that people can park there until 7pm.

Herefordshire Council has since rescinded the ticket.

A spokesman said: "It is not the council’s intention to issue penalty charge notices so quickly after a restriction commences, therefore as an error has been made on this occasion, the notice has been cancelled.

"This is an area where we receive numerous complaints from taxi drivers who are unable to park in the bay after 7pm due to other motorists being parked there.

"We apologise for any distress this may have caused."