A taxi driver whose car broke down in the floods is incensed after getting a parking ticket – at 5am the day after.

Terry Houston, who works for Pat’s Taxis in Bridport, said his car broke down at midnight.

He got help pushing it to a safe place in Fulbrooks Lane and left a note on it saying the car had broken down.

He said: “Everywhere was flooded and the warden managed to get into town and put a ticket on my car.

“We are paying his wages at 5.15 on a Sunday morning in the worst weather we have had in 35 years.

“I just thought people ought to know that council ticket collectors are out at five in the morning.

“We pushed the car to safety in Fulbrooks Lane and it wasn’t causing a hazard to safety, nothing at all.

“The car broke down at midnight but if it had broken down at two o’clock in the afternoon you still couldn’t have got anything done because Bridport was blocked.

“I put a big notice in the window saying ‘broken down, awaiting recovery’.

A spokesman for Dorset County Council said they had no knowledge of the ticket and could not comment except to say the service was a 24-hour one.

“We have no knowledge of the ticket and have had no appeal.

“We would just advise the gentlemen in question calls the number on the back and gives the details and go through the appeals process because it does sound like an unusual circumstance.”