BBC DJ suspended in parking fine row

A BBC RADIO Sheffield presenter has been suspended over claims he threatened to criticise a council on air after his wife received a parking ticket.

Gareth Evans, who has a mid-morning show, was suspended after Bassetlaw District Council wrote to BBC bosses complaining about his behaviour.

The row escalated over a ticket his wife Jo received in a Retford car park after parking their Land Rover over marked lines on November 11.

Mr Evans, aged 39, was unavailable for comment, but in a interview with The Star before his suspension he accused the council of stretching a photograph taken by an attendant to make the vehicle look more badly parked.

He also put details of the case on his Facebook page which has now been taken down.

The presenter insisted his wife, who was eight-months pregnant at the time, had been forced to park across two bays in the Chapelgate car park to be sure of having enough room to get into the driver's side on her return.

A month earlier the 4x4 was so badly hemmed in she had been forced to use the passenger door and slide across, he said.

On November 11 the site was empty when she arrived for a shopping trip with her mother Janet. But on their return a warden had issued a £25 ticket.

The couple, who live with their five sons in the village of Everton near Bawtry, appealed, claiming there were "exceptional circumstances".

But when it was refused by Bassetlaw council chiefs, the matter was sent to the independent Traffic Appeals Tribunal. The fine currently stands at £50.

Mr Evans was suspended after David Armiger, Head of Community Prosperity at Bassetlaw Council, wrote to the station.