The parking meter angel: Meet the Good Samaritan who will buy you a ticket when the traffic wardens are hovering

• Roger Clayton came up with idea after being fined for being just minutes over his time
• Now urging others to buy strangers tickets to 'spread some happiness'
  

By Simon Tomlinson

PUBLISHED: 02:07 EST, 20 June 2012 | UPDATED: 05:43 EST, 20 June 2012

Good Samaritan: Livid motorist Roger Clayton (pictured) is fighting back against traffic wardens by paying for people's parking tickets if they are about to run out of time

It's a soul-destroying moment most motorists will have encountered.

Returning to your car, you find it has been slapped with a parking ticket when you are just a few minutes over your allotted time.

Now one Good Samaritan is fighting back against the traffic wardens after suffering the same misfortune by paying for other people's tickets to ensure they don't get fined.

Roger Clayton, from Paignton, Devon, came up with the idea after being penalised for going seven minutes over his parking time.

He is now asking others to become 'parking meter angels' by putting 50p into the meter to buy a stranger the added time they need.

He said: 'I saw a traffic warden standing with his machine at Paignton beach so I went over and noticed the car's ticket was about to run out.

'So I just bought another ticket, put it under the car's windscreen wiper and walked away.

'The traffic warden didn't say anything - there's not a lot he could say really, but his face wasn't very happy, though.'

He now wants others to also 'spread some good happiness'.

He added: 'I felt good - we all work hard - if you've only got 50p to put in a meter or you get stuck in a queue it's not really your fault you overrun your time.

'It happened to me on a Sunday afternoon. I nipped in a shop with my son to buy a pair of shorts and when I came back I had a fine.'

Hitting back: Mr Clayton came up with the idea after being penalised for going seven minutes over his parking time (file picture)

His views have found support with others in Torbay.

Posting a message on a website about it, Hazel Smith wrote: 'These meters are enough to drive people away from the Bay. I am sure traffic wardens are on commission - it's really upsetting getting a ticket.'

Julie Brandon wrote: 'Good for him, I say.

'Torbay Council and it's parking policy are doing a good job of driving people away from our Towns and these random acts of kindness may just help to encourage them back in.'

But Helen Dunn-Hill wasn't impressed, posting: 'Glad some people still have money to waste in this recession.

'If drivers can't get back in time for before the ticket runs out either catch a bus or park somewhere where they can park longer.'

Pentagon to investigate hundreds of suspected child pornography fans in its ranks

Powerful Earthquake Off East Coast Of Russia