FINES tend to be there for reason and are a useful slap on the wrist when people break the rules.

It is only right that those who flout regulations are brought to book.

What should be questioned, though, is when parking tickets are found to be have been dished out wrongly.

As our front page story today shows, the proportion of tickets being chucked out on appeal is rising.

A lot of this is down to people power, according to the AA.

Everyone should be aware of their rights and be brave enough to exercise them.

But this begs the question – why are so many tickets being handed out wrongly in the first place?

It is a waste of taxpayers’ money to fling out tickets blindly.

Oxfordshire County Council said the rising number of tickets being successfully appealed was down to more being handed out.

But this does still not account for the growing proportion of appeals winning.

It is worrying if it must come down to the individual to know if they have done wrong or not, rather than those in power making sound judgements in the first place.