Former soldier let off parking fine after telling wardens 'I may be in love'

Ed Stavers, 70, was on a blind date when he over stayed his time in a free parking space.

When he returned to find the fine he wrote to the enforcement company telling them where he had been and appealing to their generosity, confessing: "There is nothing more foolish than a silly (financially pushed) old fool."

Although the message may have melted hearts at the enforcment company, when he showed it to his new girlfriend she broke off their affair.

In the letter, printed in the Sun, Mr Stavers explained that his life is “very dull” and he has been attempting to meet women at ballroom dances.

When his efforts failed - as the “old birds” always attend in pairs - he set up a date online and left his car in his home town of Chester-le-Street, Co Durham, to get the bus to Newcastle to meet her, he wrote.

telegraph.co.uk