A HAMPSHIRE council boss has been fined by his own authority for breaching controversial car parking rules that he introduced himself.

Mel Kendal, leader of New Forest District Council, has been hit in the pocket after forgetting to display a parking clock in his windscreen.

The clocks were introduced when charges were imposed by the Conservative-controlled council almost a year ago.

Tens of thousands of drivers have bought one of the £5 clocks, which are valid for a year and allow parking without further charges.

Councillor Kendal was caught out after attending a meeting at the New Forest Museum in Lyndhurst.

He said: "I was running a bit late, shot out of the car and ran into the building - forgetting to display my parking clock.

"Quite correctly, I was given a fine, which I paid that day.

"There are better ways of spending £15 than paying for a mistake, but it shows the system works and that there are no exceptions."

When he introduced the clocks on January 2, Cllr Kendal described them as "an economical and convenient way for people to pay for their parking". He added that they were a fair and practical solution to parking problems in the district.

Parking charges have long been a hot political potato in the New Forest.

They were imposed by the previous Liberal Democrat administration in 1998 and scrapped a year later after the Conservatives gained control of the council.

The Tories re-introduced the fees at the beginning of the year, saying they were needed on traffic management grounds.

Maureen Robinson, leader of the Liberal Democrat group on New Forest Council and an outspoken critic of the new scheme, had no sympathy for Cllr Kendal.

She said: "The council gets a lot of letters from people who say they've got a parking clock but forgot to put it on the dashboard. They still get fined. That's exactly what's happened to Mel Kendal.

"The council is so keen to get all the money it can from this 'non-money-making scheme'. Now he's got a taste of his own medicine."

Fellow Lib Dem Brian Dash, a Hythe county councillor and former district councillor, said: "I suspect that fines are a major source of revenue.

"But our scheme gave a free pass to all residents and derived its income from outsiders. I still believe that was the best way."

The council has so far sold more than 65,000 parking clocks, which show what time drivers left their vehicle. From January 1, the price of clocks has been increased to £6.

Motorists without a clock have to buy a ticket from a machine every time they use one of the car parks where charges apply.

A council spokesman said 5,200 people had been fined for failing to display their clock, not buying a ticket or exceeding the time limit.