MOTORISTS in Teignmouth were amazed to find Christmas cards poked under the windscreen wipers when returning to their parked cars in December 1986, writes Viv Wilson.

Placed there by the town’s notorious traffic warden, Les Brockwell, it was a pleasant surprise compared to the parking tickets he dished out with relish for 21 years.

Les claimed to have clocked up around 50,000 miles on foot round the streets of Teignmouth and was so fastidious about his duties that locals dubbed him Hirohito, after Japan’s longest reigning monarch (1926-1989) who was noted for his militaristic approach.

The day the television crew for Wish You Were Here holiday programme were filming, Les’ interview did the town no favours. The Hotel and Caterers were so angry they made an official complaint to the police, claiming he would damage the tourist trade.

READ THE FULL ARTICLE IN THE TEIGNMOUTH POST EDITION OF FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 2.