I’M afraid Geoff Cunliffe’s letter (HAS, Oct 1) complaining about the fine imposed on his wife for failing to park within allocated lines in Darlington elicits little sympathy from me.

I recently used a busy supermarket car park and in two separate instances large 4x4s had been parked in such a fashion that they occupied four spaces.

It is a well-known fact that such drivers, particularly in larger vehicles, deliberately encroach onto adjacent spaces in order to avoid their cars being bumped or scratched.

This practice, of course, prevents others from parking.

Parking a car between two clearly-marked lines is a fairly elementary manoeuvre. Drivers who are unable or unwilling to do so are at best careless or at worst selfish and deserve a fine.

VJ Connor, Bishop Auckland.