A couple of weeks ago I parked my car on the Fleming Street shoppers’ car park in Blackburn, and bought and displayed a ticket.

When I returned to my car I’d been fined.

I appealed the fine and it hasn’t been overturned. The reason? I have a VW Polo which has a shallow tray on the dashboard.

I always put my ticket there to stop it falling on to the floor or blowing away.

But apparently this doesn’t count as being ‘clearly displayed’.

The letter says that it is the driver’s responsibility to ensure that the pay and display ticket is placed clearly in the front windscreen.

But that’s rather a challenge when the ticket dispensed has no sticky backing.

My attempts to do the right thing have cost me a hefty £25 fine – or probably £50 if I make formal appeal.

So if you park in Blackburn town centre, be aware that buying a ticket and putting it on your dashboard is not good enough.

Elizabeth Ashworth via email