Parking attendants "lacking compassion and common sense"

Businessman Pat Betts, who owns Framlingham-based manufacturer Hatcher Components, attended Wickham Market Medical Centre on Friday morning with his wife to have their flu and COVID jabs, but said two parking attendants arrived "like vultures" at 8.30am to issue tickets.

He said there was a queue of 50 people waiting to get into the Chapel Lane health facility, including a number of less mobile older people who may have felt "rushed" to get back to the car by the presence of the attendants.

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He was unsure where the attendants were issuing the tickets - or how many people received them - but said the East Suffolk Council staff were in the vicinity of the car park.

Pat Betts (Image: Simon Parker/Newsquest) "I said 'what are you doing?' and he said 'we are doing the parking tickets.' I said, 'do you realise there are many older people, do you think you should just take a step back and leave it?'" 

"I am just annoyed by the insensitivity of it. They knew there were going to be a lot of people there and that was why they were there anyway," he said.

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Although he did not receive a ticket himself, Mr Betts said he saw the attendants writing out tickets near the surgery.

He believed the surgery was expecting to see up to 800 people a day to receive their vaccines, praising the organisation of staff at the practice.

The 91-year-old added: "They were there, the traffic attendants were there. They could see the situation that there were lots of older people parking to have their jabs. What about a bit of common sense?"

He said there should have been more "compassion and respect" in their approach.

East Suffolk Council has been approached for comment.

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