Special Pleading…

Traffic wardens have been targeting families pulling up outside Glenwood School in Rushbottom Lane, Benfleet, for three days in a row.

Motorists can stop legally on double yellow lines for up to five minutes, but parents say it takes them a lot longer to get special needs children in and out of cars.

Ah. And so, they should be exempt. Of course…

Some are now reverting to parking away from the school so they can drop off their children in peace.

It seems to be doing the job, then! That’s why they’ve resorted to the last-gasp of the special pleaders, the interview in the local rag:

Chloe Watson, 38,from Benfleet, said her son Oscar, four, who has autism, was very distressed after she was forced to park a long way from school when a warden moved her on. She said: “He was really upset because he could not understand where the car was.

“Because he has autism, any changes to his routine can have a big impact on him. After that I refused to move, and have been given a ticket, which I just feel is so unjust.

“These wardens really need to have a little more common sense. A lot of the parents who have physically disabled children do have badges, but if you have a child with mental disabilities it can be harder to get one. ”

And as we all know, if you can claim to be ‘special’ (or collecting for charity) why, the rules shouldn’t apply to you!