I have to pay about £60 in unfair charges every month because, having moved to Brighton, I have committed the heinous crime of having moved house a few times. I have been on the waiting list for a resident's permit since God knows when.

I understand there is a lack of parking in Brighton. If I could get by without a car I wouldn't have one as it costs me an arm and a leg. However, I work in Crawley and simply couldn't get to work without it.

I am really struggling to make ends meet.

Most recently, my car broke down with a chronic puncture at the Seven Dials. I pulled over immediately not wanting to damage the wheel. This happened to be in a disabled space, not something I could help.

This was at about 8.15pm. Not having roadside assistance I couldn't do much about it at that time so I left a note explaining the situation and pleading for clemency.

I rang both the parking line and Brighton and Hove City Council but they were "powerless" to control their own wardens and apparently I should have counted my lucky stars as the car would normally have been towed away.

I am a busy hard-working taxpaying resident who goes out of her way to help people if at all possible. I think the council is one of the most unsympathetic and extreme examples of bureaucracy gone wrong that I have ever seen and I have lived in a few places.

When did paperwork and commission for traffic wardens become more important than good faith and trust between the authorities and the good residents? I have complained countless times before and always received an impersonal standard letter in reply.

  • Olivia Ryan, Sillwood Road, Brighton