A Croydon mum was threatened with a parking ticket while breastfeeding her baby in her car.

Natalie Armstrong is demanding an apology from the jobsworth traffic warden who wrote a ticket while she was trying to calm her screaming son.

The 27-year-old mum of two was driving in Kennington last Monday when her three-month-old Ruben needed feeding. Realising she was too far away from her Croydon home, she pulled into a parking bay in a side street and left her engine running.

Within minutes a traffic warden approached her and told her to move or buy a parking ticket.

Despite explaining that she had to pull over to breast-feed Ruben, Ms Armstrong said the traffic warden persisted.

She said: "I was really getting angry. I told him I was breastfeeding but he said he didn't care."

A passing good samaritan saw what was going on and bought a £6 parking ticket for Ms Armstrong, but the stickler warden continued.

"Before I had time to display the ticket, the warden was taking pictures of my car and told me he would send a ticket in the post," Ms Armstrong explained.

"I never thought this would happen. I was breast-feeding - you cannot prevent it. Ruben's not a bottle fed baby, you have to breast feed on demand."

Ms Armstrong eventually got out of her car and called Lambeth Council. But she was shocked at the response given.

"I was so agitated. I still can't believe it. I deliberately came off the main road to find a side street. It would have been more dangerous to drive with a screaming child in the car," she added.

"The power has gone to this council's head. You have got to make a distinction between those who are taking advantage and those who are genuine. You cannot ignore a screaming baby."

A spokesman for Lambeth Council said a ticket was not issued and that it had asked its parking contractor, Control Plus, to investigate the matter "urgently".

He added: "We expect all staff, whether they are working for the council directly or as a contractor on our behalf, as in this case, to treat members of the public with the utmost courtesy and respect at all times. We apologise to Ms Armstrong for the distress this incident has caused."