THE last financiaI year, as we reveal today, saw Swindon Borough Council gather more than £630,000 in parking fines.

A spokesman told us: “We know that parking enforcement is never going to be at the top of most people’s favourite public services, but the alternative would be a complete free-for-all.”

No rational person can do anything but agree with this statement, even if many of us find ourselves doing so through gritted teeth.

If every enforcer were removed from the streets at this moment, the bulk of the population would still do their best to play by the rules.

They’d pay their car parking fees so the car parks could be maintained; they’d refrain from blocking roads because bringing the town to a halt would ultimately harm us all, and they’d avoid parking in dangerous places for fear of harming others.

Why? Because most people have at least some sense of being part of a community and working toward the common good.

Unfortunately a selfish minority would behave exactly as they pleased, bringing chaos and danger to the rest.

Anybody who doubts this should consider some of the school run horror stories which have emerged in recent years. In one case an ambulance crew were harassed by selfish motorists as they treated a dying patient.

The fact that fine revenues are slowly decreasing suggests more of us are being careful not to break the rules.

The only negative aspect to the story is the fact that the relevant information had to be chiselled out of the council with the aid of a Freedom of Information request.

Withholding such data makes no sense.