MOTORIST Derek Scott was stunned when he was given a £50 parking ticket - as he asked a traffic warden for directions.

Mr Scott, 47, from Hartlepool, had driven down the same road in central London three times as he searched for an address.

He stopped his Mercedes Sprinter van when he spotted a traffic warden and climbed out to ask for help.

But as he was chatting to the warden, his colleague was writing out a ticket.

The father-of-two was told he was being booked for stopping in an area where vehicle waiting, loading and unloading restrictions were in place.

But last night he said he had not been told by the first warden - whose directions he later followed to find the address - that he was parking illegally.

"I couldn't believe my eyes," he said. "I had been there no length of time - only long enough to ask for directions, less than a minute.

"I wasn't waiting, loading or unloading and I was talking to the warden when this other one booked me."

Mr Scott had driven 240 miles to London to take a friend to a new job on a building site in Westminster.

He has been given 14 days to pay the fine, or it will be increased to £100.

He said: "I have already appealed and my letter was dismissed, so I don't think there's much chance of having it overturned.

He added: "I'll just have to pay."

A spokesman for the City of Westminster Council, which uses NCP traffic wardens, said: "We have a firm but fair parking policy."