Parking clampdown - 'It is common sense and long overdue'

PARK your car a few inches over a double yellow line or overstay your welcome in a metered parking bay and you will probably get ticketed by one of Edinburgh's ever-alert parking wardens.

But dump your car in the middle of the road where other road users, including fire engines and ambulances, struggle to get past and the chances are nothing will happen.

The parking wardens can't touch you because double parking is a criminal matter, so the police have to be called. Understandably, on most occasions, Lothian and Borders' finest have more pressing matters on their hands which mean they can't come straight round.

It's a totally ridiculous situation and one which fire chiefs are warning could even cost lives.

In one recent incident, firefighters had to abandon their tender and WALK to an emergency in Morningside because their way was blocked by the poor parking of one thoughtless motorist.

There is an easy remedy to the problem and it is already working effectively in London. There, responsibility for double parking has been passed from the police to local councils, who hand out spot fines.

The city council didn't get to bring in a London-style congestion charge, but this is one measure they are quite right to look to adopt.

They are now looking for a similar change in the law in Scotland. It is just common sense and long overdue in Edinburgh.

No cull of the wild

EVEN people who aren't animal lovers will surely agree that Edinburgh Zoo has made the right decision in giving a reprieve to Ellis, Nelson and Moses.

When the News revealed yesterday that the three Red River Hog piglets could be culled, campaigners went into action to save them, gathering support from around the world.

Having been criticised for putting two others, Sammi and Becca, to sleep last year, the zoo clearly decided that enough bad publicity was enough. Now the three surviving piglets are expected to be found a new home.

It is worth remembering that, in many cases, animals in zoos are only born, or only continue to live, because they are part of a breeding programme. Many of those programmes are preserving species that would otherwise be extinct. That's a tough job with tough choices.

But there is something distasteful about a zoo allowing animals to breed and then culling them. We are sure no-one at the zoo relished that part of the job and they will be as pleased at the reprieve as anyone.