Was someone posing as a parking warden in Marton?

Marton's town centre was targeted on Thursday.

Police are investigating whether someone has been posing as a parking warden in Marton’s town centre.

Rangitīkei District Council posted a warning on its Facebook page after receiving a report there was “someone impersonating a parking warden”.

“At the time, we did not have any parking enforcement officers on duty, so we advised local police of the matter,” the council’s regulatory services group manager Johan Cullis said.

“We notified the public asking them to report to the Marton police station and council if they saw anyone handing out parking tickets or if they had received a parking ticket in Marton.”

But Cullis also said the council hadn’t received any other complaints and no one had come forward with an illegitimate infringement notice.

“We suspect the original complainant may have seen someone putting pamphlets or some other document under windscreen wipers, and they assumed it was a parking ticket.”

Cullis said while the council could issue parking tickets, it didn’t proactively monitor parking spaces with time limits.

“If someone were to receive a legitimate parking infringement notice from council, it would include all necessary legal information, including how to pay and how to dispute the ticket.”

Rangitīkei mayor Andy Watson said he didn’t think it was a serious extortion attempt as much as a “light-hearted jiff”.

“However, if it becomes a repeat offence we will need to do something about it.

“I can absolutely swear to you that we do not have parking meters in Marton and our retailers would welcome you.

“Come over and enjoy free parking. If you get a letter on your window, don’t pay it.”

If you have received an infringement notice recently and are unsure of its legitimacy, you can call council on 06 327 0099 or email info@rangitikei.govt.nz.”

A police spokesperson said no one had been in touch with any information.

“Police have been advised and enquiries were still ongoing.”