I WAS fascinated to read Ian Snedden's letter accusing me of jumping on the bandwagon of evening parking charges in York (September 13).

Is Mr Snedden a York hotelier? Or a Liberal Democrat sympathiser? Or both? I think we should be told.

For the record, my comments about parking charges to reporter Mike Laycock were part of a wide-ranging conversation.

Oh, and by the way Mr Snedden, the parking charge bandwagon is rolling on and on - and certainly won't be halted by your cheap little jibes.

John Benson-Smith,

Chef patron,

Hazlewood Castle,

Tadcaster, York.

Updated: 10:59 Friday, September 17, 2004