Police officers taking part in a training exercise were astonished to find their unmarked cars had been ticketed by parking wardens.

The officers, from the police's tactical support unit, fell foul of a parking attendant in Leicester city centre yesterday.

Three officers, who were conducting a mock search of the Athena wedding and entertainment venue, in Rutland Street, received £70 fines for parking on the pavement outside the building.

They had been assured by Athena managers the area was private land and, therefore, the cars could not be ticketed.

Marked police vehicles nearby were not ticketed when the warden fined the three officers at 11am.

Leicestershire police and the city council were last night trying to determine whether or not the tickets should have been issued. The force said the £70 fines would be paid if it was established the officers were illegally parked.

Hira Ram, events manager at Athena, said: "The police officers had permission from me to park where they did. This piece of land is owned by Athena and the Land Registry will confirm that is the case.

"I have issues with this every weekend, particularly with wedding cars. Some wardens give tickets out and some don't."

A spokesperson for Leicester City Council said: "We can confirm that our contractors, Vinci Park Services Ltd, ticketed three cars outside of the Athena.

"We are seeking clarification to determine if the cars were parked on private land, or on the highway. If the cars were parked on private land, the tickets will be revoked."

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