My wife recently received a parking ticket, which stated she had parked in a restricted street during prescribed hours.

According to The Concise Oxford Dictionary, the definition of prescribe is: a) advise the use of; b) recommend, esp, as a benefit. If this was the intended sense of the notice, it therefore follows that my wife's parking was not only advised but also could be recommended to be positively beneficial.

Unfortunately, I have a strong suspicion the word the woefully inadequate individual who penned the ticket was groping for was proscribed, meaning, in this instance, forbidden.

In any other European country, such a gaffe would arouse a storm of protest. In France, where they care passionately about their language, the culprit would no doubt be punished by being made to sit through twelve hours of EastEnders while bring force-fed microwaved Pot Noodle. It says a lot about this country that the same punishment over here would probably be greeted with whoops of delight.

How are we supposed to care for our great language if our institutions cannot be bothered? Please, if we are going to be prosecuted, let it be in correct English.

-A J Secombe, Sackville Gardens, Hove