So, Brighton and Hove is the parking-ticket Mecca (November 18). Why, I wonder, is the city sometimes in gridlock if all these illegally parked cars are being targeted?

Simple - the majority of tickets issued are not for offences on the major highways, the main shopping streets or the seafront.

No, they are being issued by wardens creeping around the back streets of Brighton and Hove just after dawn.

I have witnessed wardens issuing tickets at 7am - and not for a vehicle blocking a road, double parking or even parking dangerously, which would be tackling the city's problem.

These tickets were issued for a tax disc a few days overdue, a van collecting cleaners from an office, a nurse's car parked in an area where restrictions start at 8am. I wonder how she felt on returning to her vehicle after a night's shift at the county hospital to find a ticket for being just five minutes late?

Why? Perhaps it's the warden's bonus on each ticket issued that drives them. Perhaps it's just the contempt with which this council treats the majority of honest residents and traders trying to exist here.

What has it all achieved? More money for NCP, more money for Brighton and Hove City Council? What will we see? A real park-and-ride system, sensible road planning and more pedestrianised areas? I suspect nothing.

I just want this city to be a nice place to be and can't wait for the next local election.

-John Williams, Kemp Town