SIR – May I offer a few words of advice to readers living in a St Albans controlled parking zone? If you are unlucky enough to have a plumbing emergency and lucky enough to secure the services of a plumber, no matter how much water may be pouring through

SIR - May I offer a few words of advice to readers living in a St Albans controlled parking zone?

If you are unlucky enough to have a plumbing emergency and lucky enough to secure the services of a plumber, no matter how much water may be pouring through your ceiling always take time out to scratch the time off a visitors' parking permit.

Unfortunately, in his haste to help us, our plumber - a stranger to the city - neglected to do so on the permit we gave him and was promptly issued with a fine.

That our appeal to parking services manager Mr S Gangadeen to take into account the extenuating circumstances was met with total intransigence was not too much of a surprise - his creative spelling of the word "Plummer", however, was.

STEPHEN GRIFFIN

Address supplied