A motorist who was given a parking ticket before he had a chance to pay for a permit has had his fine quashed following intervention from the Croydon Guardian.

Roger Sailes was originally told he would have to pay the unfair penalty after a traffic warden stood next to him as he fed money into the pay and display machine, slapping the ticket on his windscreen before he had the chance to place the permit on his window.

When Mr Sailes confronted the attendant, he alleges the warden taunted him saying: "who will they believe; you or me?", on October 27 last year in London Road, West Croydon.

Despite the fact Mr Sailes had two witnesses to the incident - including an off-duty police officer - Croydon Council's parking services department at first rejected his appeal, without speaking with either witness.

However, following inquiries by the Croydon Guardian about the married dad-of-two's case, the council this week said it will quash the fine and look into the complaint about the parking attendant's conduct.

Mr Sailes, a 47-year-old self-employed engineer, of Leighton Gardens, Sanderstead, said: "I don't feel like I have been dealing with a public office, it's more a feeling like I am fighting off muggers.

"It took less than two minutes for me to park, go to the back of my van to find some change and put coins in the meter, but this warden obviously thought it was reasonable grounds to give me a ticket.

"The problem is that it is left to the parking attendant to judge what is a reasonable' amount of time to buy a permit. There are no set guidelines."

A Croydon Council spokesman said a delay had occurred because Mr Sailes had sent his appeal against the fine and his complaint against the parking attendant to the same address, instead of two separate ones. He added: "We have now quashed the fine, based upon the pay and display ticket evidence. We are following established procedure over the formal complaint, and investigating the matter."