The two most senior officers at Leicester City Council were involved in the cancellation of parking tickets for a senior councillor, a whistle-blower claims.

Earlier this month, Lord Mayor Rob Wann, a former cabinet member, was reported to the council's standards board over claims he had several parking tickets cancelled or written off in questionable circumstances.

Documents handed to the Mercury by former council parking employee Chris Hughes, 63, appear to show that both former chief executive Sheila Lock and her deputy Andy Keeling were involved in getting a parking ticket cancelled for Coun Wann.

Mr Hughes said: "It seems that there's one rule for them and a different one for everyone else. If these have been wrongly written off as a favour it would be an abuse of power.

"I believe these parking tickets may have been cancelled as a result of pressure from the top. I believe within these documents there is some evidence to support that."

Coun Wann has been handed six parking tickets since the city council took over parking enforcement from the police in 2007.

Five of those have been either cancelled or written off. One internal investigation has already taken place.

A second one, by the standards board, has now been triggered following a complaint by city mayor Sir Peter Soulsby.

The documents handed to the Mercury show that one ticket was cancelled following an e-mail in September last year from Mr Keeling to Andrew Thomas, the council's head of traffic management.

It said: "Councillor Wann has given me a parking ticket served on his car yesterday.

"He claims he was parked in a loading bay but the loading restriction sign indicated it was okay for him to park at the time that he did. I don't really want to get into a row with him about this and neither do I want him going to the chief executive. Please can you look at this."

The e-mail was forwarded to Nigel Clarke, head of parking services, and 10 minutes later the parking office was instructed to cancel the ticket.

The instruction said that it had been decided that it would be "accepted as an informal challenge", and that as Coun Wann was apparently loading, the ticket was to be cancelled.

In council notes on one of the five quashed tickets, worth £440 in total, a message reads: "Case returned by Rossendales [the council's debt collection contractors] ... following involvement from chief exec."

Documents show that on two occasions tickets were cancelled due to bailiffs being unable to trace Coun Wann – despite him being a sitting councillor who regularly attends the Town Hall on council business.

Rossendales declined to comment.

On a fifth ticket, the notes say he could not be traced.

A separate document shows a request form for a parking exemption permit (PEP) for Coun Wann, dated September last year.

The permit allows the holder to park in specific locations within Leicester at specified times, but evidence must be provided to support why the applicant needs the permit.

The council's parking team is supposed to make the final decision on whether to grant it.

However, an internal note attached to Coun Wann's application form states: "Andy Keeling and Jeff Miller [who] have both said that a PEP 'must be issued regardless' to Coun Robert Wann?!?!"

A council spokesman said: "There are approximately 130 PEPs in circulation and they are strictly controlled.

"The majority have been issued to social care and health workers and to vehicles used for cash collections."

Mr Hughes, who no longer works at the council, reported his concerns to the authority earlier this year.

He received a letter from council legal boss Perry Holmes saying that an internal investigation had found no misconduct by any city council officer, and that he had shared his findings with an external auditor.

Mr Hughes said: "I came forward because I don't believe that this issue was fully investigated."

Since becoming city mayor, Sir Peter has reopened the issue and another investigation is under way.

The Mercury asked the council for in-depth details of its original investigation and whether any council rules were broken as a result of the cancellations.

It declined to respond in detail.

Mr Holmes said in a written response: "I have no doubt that all of these questions will be asked as part of the investigation that we are commissioning into this matter.

"This investigation will be undertaken by someone independent of the council and its findings reported to the standards committee.

"Obviously, we would not wish to prejudice that investigation and therefore it would be inappropriate at this time for us to answer the detailed questions that the Mercury is rightly asking.

"Finally, I would add that our district auditor is fully aware of this issue after I briefed him about it last month and has asked to be kept informed."

Coun Wann said he was unable to comment due to the ongoing investigation.

The council said that Mr Keeling, Mr Clarke and Mr Miller did not wish to make individual comments and accepted the council's response through Mr Holmes.

Mr Thomas is currently out of the country. Ms Lock did not respond to the Mercury's requests for a comment.