A NEW mayor has been accused of 'rank hypocrisy' after his official car was spotted parked on double yellow lines outside his village home.

An angry reader sent in a photograph of the dark-colour Audi in Harbour Lane at the side of the Edgworth home of Cllr Colin Rigby, the new first citizen of Blackburn with Darwen.

He captioned it: “Don’t think this should be parked here do you?”

The picture has infuriated Darwen Town Council mayor, Cllr Roy Davies, who disbelieves borough council claims the short stay on the ‘double yellows’ was within the rules.

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The official car, driven bt the mayoral officer, was also on the pavement contravening the highway code which states unequivocally: "You MUST NOT wait or park on yellow lines during the times of operation."

Sudell ward Liberal Democrat Cllr Davies said he believed national rules were paramount and the incident was ‘pushing the limits’.

A Department for Transport spokesman said of the code: "These are national rules that apply to all public highways in the UK."

Cllr Rigby, 75, who is shortly to go into hospital for open-heart surgery, said the occasion was a one-off.

He said his driver normally parked the vehicle at the back of the house but the narrow access road was blocked on the morning in question.

Cllr Davies said: “Nobody is above the law which applies to everybody.

"National rules are national rules and I believe what is in the Highway Code over the council when it said it can set its own rules.

"This parking on the pavement and double yellow lines smacks of rank hypocrisy and double standards.

“I certainly hope this does not happen often and the car really was there for only a few minutes.

"As Blackburn with Darwen's 'First Citizen' Cllr Rigby is expected to set an example to everyone else.

“This is certainly pushing the limits.

"They can let me have the car every other week as Mayor of Darwen and I will set the right example by obeying parking rules and yellow lines."

A council spokesman said: “Parking regulations in Blackburn with Darwen allow for cars to stop for up to five minutes on double yellow lines.

“While the mayoral officer would always try to avoid parking in a restricted zone where possible, at this time there was no-where else for the officer to park.

“The car was parked in this spot for no more than a few minutes, while the mayor was being picked up for an official event.

"Observation times are not a legal requirement, but are set by each individual council.

“The mayor also has some mobility issues and is a blue badge holder.”

Cllr Rigby said: “I think Cllr Davies is being pompous.

“This was an exceptional occasion as the driver normally parks round the back but the access road was blocked.

"I understand that there is a local discretion of up to five minutes before a traffic warden is supposed to write a ticket on double yellow lines.

“The driver stopped, came in and called us and we went straight out. It took only a couple of minutes.”