Give a man a badge and a uniform ...

... and the bureaucrats the power to become Judge Dredd and dispense instant justice (and keep the proceeds ... in this case Newcastle Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust), and you will understand why stories like this are becoming more common.

This ticket was issued to an ambulance for 'not parked in a designated bay' whilst dropping off sick patients.

We know that the world has not gone mad ... it is just this country's mad officials that have, by virtue of the self-proliferating culture that they have surrounded themselves with, created a new breed.

This 'breed' is now all pervasive through Bureaucratopia whether it be hospital trusts or local authorities. They see us ordinary mortals as the enemy. Fine us into behaving. They even see their own workers and non-bureaucratic colleagues as the enemy, generating discontent and ill-feeling amongst those that should be working together as part of a team.

This culture and 'breed' need to be shown that they are not Judge Dredd and there is a proper place for fairness and justice and it is before a court of law. The proliferation of 'civil penalties' is simply encouraging the incestuous breeding of the Bureacratopian mindset.

By refusing to pay these civil fines and forcing them to take the matter before a court to recover the debt will hopefully bring the cane of common sense crashing down on their backsides.

Read the story in the Newcastle Chronicle.