A GOOD Samaritan who stopped her car to help a collapsed pedestrian to safety received a parking ticket for her efforts.

Maria Fowden was driving home when she saw the OAP fall to the ground in Locket Road, Wealdstone.

Frightened that the man was in danger, Mrs Fowden leapt out to help.

But when she returned, she was shocked to see a traffic warden writing out a ticket because she had hurriedly parked on a yellow line.

"I tried to explain but he said, 'I've written the ticket' and left. I've never had a ticket or any traffic offence,'" she said.

"I knew I was parking on a yellow line but I thought it would be fine because I was helping this man."

Furious, the 64-year-old woman, who lives in Tudor Road, protested to Harrow Council about the £30 fine, which she eventually paid.

She added: "If I had looked for a parking space, precious minutes would have been lost."

A Harrow Council spokesman said: "Although Mrs Fowden explained the circumstances, unfortunately it did not provide any factual evidence and therefore there were no grounds to justify cancellation."