THE Mayor of Axbridge was left out in the cold when he was given a parking ticket while moving a fridge. Cllr Barry Hamblin and colleague John Hedges were loading a heavy refrigerator onto a van in Axbridge High Street when they were handed a fixed penal

THE Mayor of Axbridge was left out in the cold when he was given a parking ticket while moving a fridge. Cllr Barry Hamblin and colleague John Hedges were loading a heavy refrigerator onto a van in Axbridge High Street when they were handed a fixed penalty notice. Cllr Hamblin said: "If the police officer had taken the time to look inside the house first she would have noticed us with a huge fridge in our arms. I would have explained that the van would be moved a few minutes afterwards."You are allowed to stop your vehicle to load and unload goods. I was going to move it straight after."He also said he has a good relationship with other police staff and that it would not have happened if they had been present. He said: "I am prepared to accept that this was an error of judgement by an inexperienced Police Community Support Officer (PCSO). Her attitude was not conducive to community policing."Cllr Hamblin wrote to the Chief Constable of Avon and Somerset police who advised him that 'mitigation can only be considered by the courts'. Cllr Hamblin added: "I hope this doesn't mean that the Chief Constable encourages the persecution of innocent citizens and policing by fear. I wonder if other residents have been the victim of unwarranted persecution?