No one would envy the person responsible for enforcing Harrow’s traffic regulations. Nobody likes being fined and I am sure the council is overwhelmed with complaints and appeals, many of which will have little merit.

As a former council employee myself, I know that local authorities like Harrow are full of hard-working people doing their best in extremely difficult circumstances. People are far too quick to attack council staff when they do not like the result of the work they do on our behalf.

However in this case (“Council fines man for using bus lane to rush mother to hospital”, Harrow Times, May 28), I think we are entitled to feel that our interests are better served when the council uses a degree of common sense and compassion. Faced with a similar set of circumstances I think many of us would have rushed to take our 94-year-old mother to hospital. In the same set of circumstances, I would not appreciate the council lecturing me about what I should have done instead.

I hope Peter Gower will take this matter further by writing to his ward councillors, the leader of the council and the chief executive. If this is not effective, then he may be able to involve the Parking and Traffic Appeal Service, which considers appeals against traffic penalties issued by London boroughs.

However, I hope that Harrow will take the opportunity to think again.

There may be some comfort in knowing you are keeping to the letter of the law, but if in the process, you only succeed in adding to the number of people who think the council is incompetent and unfeeling it may well be a bad bargain.

Lesley Cramp

North Harrow