A parking warden stopped on double yellow lines to issue a ticket.

The civil enforcement officer had pulled over opposite a lorry in Maidstone, to speak to a driver parked dangerously across the road.

A passerby caught the officer parked on the corner of Union Street and Church Road just before 8am.

There are parking spaces nearby in Starnes Court and further down Union Street.

Maidstone Borough Council has defended the action of its employee.

That's because they are in fact allowed to flout the rules, in certain situations.

A council spokesman said: "The traffic regulation orders that underpin highway restrictions allow dispensation for vehicles carrying out a statutory duty. This includes functions such as highway lighting repairs, utilities access and vehicles used for civil parking enforcement as this is also a statutory function.

"Civil enforcement officers will of course use this dispensation as a last resort and in this case it seems used to deal with a contravention that potentially has highway safety implications.

"Alternative available parking would normally be used, however, it seems the officer needed to deal with a potential highway safety issue (a delivery truck on the corner of Union Street and Church Street) as the first priority."

Read more: All the latest news from Maidstone.