Ref. 75797-58As the town paid tribute to the million victims of Auschwitz one traffic warden had other ideas

A PARKING warden who asked the Mayor of Swindon to shift his car during a Holocaust Memorial Day ceremony has been accused of insulting the memory of the thousands who died at Auschwitz.

Coun Peter Stoddart feared he was about to get a parking ticket after the mayoral car was spotted in a loading bay near the Town Hall by the attendant.

The gold-coloured Honda had been parked up while the mayor gave a speech at the service in Regent Circus.

Martin Vandervelde, president of the Swindon Jewish Community, said: "I think it's appalling. It's an insult, not just to the day but to all those who lost their lives. I'm surprised, it really is appalling."

Holocaust survivor Ronjn Grochowski, 82, was equally disgusted at the behaviour of the quick-off-the-mark warden.

Mr Grochowski, who was 19 when he was arrested by the German SS in his homeland of Poland and sent to a punishment camp in Germany, said: "This parking attendant must be insane. Of course it is an insult to the people who lost their lives, to everybody.

"It's not amusing, someone with that sort of mentality should not be in that position.

"They should be screened to see what their mentality is."

Anne Snelgrove, the Labour hopeful who wants to replace Julia Drown as MP for South Swindon when she steps down, was also at the ceremony.

She said: "The mayor was doing his duty as a civic representative of all of us. I know they have got to do their jobs but they need to do it sensitively."

Coun Stoddart said: "He was just trying to be a jobsworth really.

"The man was doing his job but he was doing it to the nth degree.

"I mean it is a loading bay and we had been there longer than we should have been but you would think sometimes you can make allowances. Rules are rules though and we were parking in a loading bay."

Sarah Deacon, a spokeswoman for the council, which is in charge of the parking wardens, said: "On the one hand we would expect everybody to park in accordance to parking regulations, but we would make certain exceptions in situations such as this.

"The attendant involved did not know it was the mayor's car as the flag was not on show. The attendant did not issue a ticket, he asked the mayor if it would be possible to move the car on."

Gareth Bethell