I have always been under the impression that vehicles cannot be parked on the pavement, not because this one-metre wide strip of land is called a pavement, but because a vehicle parked on a normal pavement would obstruct the free passage of pedestrians.

However, I was under the wrong impression.

In fact, vehicles cannot be parked on pavements for the simple reason that that part of the road is called a… pavement.

The picture explains what I am saying. As can easily be seen, even though several cars are parked on the pavement, there is still enough space to allow even a bendy bus to use the remaining unobstructed space on the pavement.

Unfortunately, a warden thought otherwise and gave me a ticket.

My car is the maroon Fiat Uno behind the red car. Hoping that the members of the Board of Petitions had more common sense than the warden, I sent them this picture and explained my case. But even they thought that parking on pavements is, always, illegal. So I appeared before the Commissioner for Justice at the Żejtun local council.

I thought that the learned doctor – she was a lawyer – would give a better interpretation of the law. But I was mistaken and was fined €23.29.