THE LORD Mayor of Southampton's car was slapped with a parking ticket after a traffic warden saw her car in a ‘reserved’ bay at the civic centre.

The Lord Mayor’s car is clearly recognisable as it is printed with the words ‘Mayor of Southampton’ on its side.

However, a traffic warden said that the Mayor, Councillor Jacqui Rayment, must 'follow the same rules as everybody else’ concerning the incident on Tuesday afternoon.

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But a spokesperson from Southampton City Council said: “The Lord Mayor has a dedicated parking space for her official car and on this occasion, it appears a ticket was issued in error when her official car was parked in that space.

“The ticket has been rescinded accordingly.”

Parking tickets for similar parking offences such as parking on a double yellow line or overstaying your welcome in a council-run car park see fines of up to £35.