A RETIRED police sergeant is taking legal action to stop the flouting of parking regulations by his former police force.

Ernie Gash, a self-styled motorists’ champion, is mounting a private prosecution of Humberside Police for allowing its vehicles to be parked on double yellow lines outside his local police station.

Mr Gash, 61, who spent 32 years in the force, turned private detective to build a dossier of photographic evidence that contains 14 alleged instances of illegal parking by marked police cars and vans in Scunthorpe.

He argues that officers who park on double yellow lines outside the police station should receive fixed penalty tickets as would any other motorist who breaches parking regulations.

“I’m doing this on a point of principle. If you enforce the law, you have to obey it. It is morally wrong that police officers can flout the law when other people get hammered for minor traffic offences,” he said.

Mr Gash, a former Police Federation representative, turned to the courts after his complaints to the town’s senior police officer, Chief Superintendent Graham Di Duca, allegedly met with no response.

He went to his local library, read a number of legal texts, decided that the police had a case to answer and served 14 summonses on Mr Di Duca, each alleging that he had “aided and abetted” his officers’ illegal parking. “It all started when I was walking past the police station and noticed that there were six police cars parked on the double yellow lines,” he said.

“I’ve known Mr Di Duca for years, so I complained to him. He said he hadn’t enough parking spaces for all the force’s vehicles. Despite the police later acquiring more spaces, the problem didn’t stop, so I decided to issue the summonses.

“If there is no room to park all the police cars at the station, why don’t they use the nearby public car park and pay a parking fee like the rest of us?”

Mr Gash says that Scunthorpe Police Station has 46 legitimate parking spaces for its fleet of about 50 vehicles, some of which are, at any given time, out on patrol.

“Over the past few years, officers just seem to do as they like. I’m not legally aided and I can’t afford a lawyer, but I’m fighting on behalf of the public and loyal police officers, who understand that you cannot uphold the law when you are breaking it.”

When the case came before Scunthorpe magistrates last week, lawyers for Humberside Police indicated that Mr Di Duca intended to plead not guilty to all the charges brought by Mr Gash.

The force has reserved the right to engage a barrister for any future trial, which would leave the retired officer facing a legal bill of up to £7,000 if he loses the case and is forced to pay defence costs.

The hearing was adjourned until June 16 to allow Mr Gash to seek independent legal advice, but he later maintained that he was confident that he could still win the case.

“The police will no doubt argue they have a get-out clause in that they can park on double yellows for operational need. But those lines outside the station are there for a reason. There is a blind bend and an issue of safety arises. It is not safe to park on those lines.”

A spokeswoman for the force said: “Humberside Police can confirm that a private summons has been issued against the district commander in relation to the parking of police vehicles at Scunthorpe Police Station. The charges will be vigorously defended.”

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