The heat-induced madness which caused youngsters to throw themselves into the sea from the Palace Pier helter-skelter seems also to have affected some of our traffic wardens.

What else would explain the action of the warden who booked my vehicle in a loading bay in St James's Street when I dashed into a store to pick up a particularly heavy object?

When I emerged four minutes later I found the warden about to issue a ticket. "This is a parking bay," I told her, "and I am loading a parcel."

"Yes," she retorted smugly, "but your vehicle is a motorcycle and motorcycles are not allowed to use loading bays."

She then strode off without actually presenting me with a penalty charge notice.

This, I understand, will be sent to me in the post and I will contest it vigorously, for nowhere could I see a sign which prohibits bikes from a loading bay.

Considering people in congested Brighton need to be encouraged to use two-wheeled vehicles rather than their cars, this booking seems especially irrational, not to mention downright vindictive.

-Barry Duke, Brighton