SHOPPERS were amazed after they witnessed a traffic warden dishing out a parking ticket to a rapid response vehicle - as paramedics left it unattended so they could take a patient to hospital.

Members of the public looked on in disbelief as an overzealous female warden slapped a fine on the emergency vehicle's windscreen in Driffield on Wednesday afternoon.

The ambulance was parked on double lines near a branch of Thomas Cook and had been left for two hours while paramedics cared for a patient.

Eyewitnesses confronted the parking attendant but were told the driver would have to appeal the ticket.

Mum-of-three Emily Dean, 27, caught the incident on camera and said: “I was quite shocked, you don’t expect to see an ambulance with a ticket on the windscreen.

“A few people were trying to tell the parking attendant that the paramedic had gone off in an ambulance. They said he will have to appeal it.

“We were watching her do it, the ambulance had been parked there for a couple of hours.

“I don’t understand what has made her do it, what has gone through her head?”

The parking ticket included a fine of between £25 and £35 if paid within 14 days - increasing to between 50 and 70 pounds after that time frame.

However, East Riding of Yorkshire Council has since revoked the ticket after liaising with Yorkshire Ambulance Service NHS Trust.

A spokesman for East Riding of Yorkshire Council said: "We have spoken to the Yorkshire Ambulance Trust and understand the ambulance vehicle had been left parked for about two hours while the paramedic accompanied a patient to hospital.

"We are pleased to say we've been able to resolve this matter quickly."

A Yorkshire Ambulance Service NHS Trust spokesperson said: "We can confirm that one of our paramedics left his rapid response vehicle parked in Driffield yesterday while he accompanied a poorly patient to hospital on an ambulance with colleagues.

“We understand that the parking ticket issued will be waived by East Riding of Yorkshire Council due to these circumstances and we are grateful to the authority for doing so.”