A TAXI driver has hit out at the council following a letter he received when appealing his parking ticket.

Victor Isaac, who is a private hire driver, pulled over in The Hundred, Romsey for one minute to help a "frail" woman get out of the The Phoenix bar and restaurant.

When he returned to his car, a parking ticket was on his windscreen.

Now, Test Valley Borough Council have cancelled his parking ticket but issued Mr Isaac a letter which states: "Where there are yellow lines you may stop while passengers board, but only for so long as is necessary for the passenger to get in or out of the vehicle.

"There is no exemption to leave the vehicle unattended, for example to assist a passenger to or from a building.

"If in the future you are transporting a passenger who needs assistance in getting to or from your vehicle, meaning that it would be necessary to leave it unattended, you should ensure that your vehicle is parked in accordance with any parking restrictions in force.

The 51-year-old said: "It is a small victory for common sense.

"My recommendation for them to perhaps issue a 10 minute badge for a dash board have been rejected and been told that any passengers needing assistance must sadly have to to make this walk from a legal parking.

"Essentially what TVBC is saying between the lines is that I have to make a judgement call in whether I take a risk to help out a person who needs assistance by leaving my vehicle to get them into where they need to go."

He added: "Such a simple solution is rejected which shows that TVBC is not in tune with the elderly and their requirements.

"A little disc that I put on my dash that indicates I am helping a passengers is not too much to ask but it seems so."

He appealed his parking ticket which he received back in October.

Mr Isaac, from Totton, added: "I will still be helping my older passengers as they should never be discriminated against because they are old or disabled."

A council spokesperson, said: “The primary purpose of implementing and enforcing parking restrictions is to ensure the safe flow of traffic to protect both road users and pedestrians. Our enforcement officers issue tickets for the safety of the public and do listen to explanations for each ticket. They are simply doing their jobs.

“Our civil enforcement officer would not have known at the point at which they observed an unattended car in an instant ticket zone, that the driver was assisting an elderly passenger. The area is clearly marked with double yellow lines and a no-waiting and no-loading restriction."

The council also stated, similar to the letter, you cannot leave your vehicle in double-yellow line areas and if the passenger is disabled, they may give their blue badge to the taxi driver to use disable spaces.