IT ISN T too late for Westminster Council to follow the example of other councils in London and waive car parking charges next Saturday, which is Boxing Day. At a time when traders need all the help they can get, especially at this time of year when end-

IT ISN'T too late for Westminster Council to follow the example of other councils in London and waive car parking charges next Saturday, which is Boxing Day.

At a time when traders need all the help they can get, especially at this time of year when end-of-year profits depend on a decent festive spend, the council could surely cast off its Scrooge-like mantle for a day and spread some seasonal Christmas cheer among shoppers and traders alike.

The council's argument for treating next weekend like any other is that since Boxing Day falls on a Saturday, it isn't an official Bank Holiday.

Come off it, you good folk at the council. You know that people will arrive with their credit cards, expecting to spend plenty of money in the shops but oblivious to the need to pay for parking on what they regard as a public holiday. How many shopping trips do you want to spoil?

And what of the poor traffic wardens who will be made to trudge the streets before they have had time to recover from their festive indulgences? Don't they deserve to put their feet up on Boxing Day?

We wonder how many of the people involved in this decision will be at their council desks on Boxing Day while the poor wardens are out in the cold, being abused for ticketing disgruntled motorists in what is suppposed to be the season of goodwill to all men. Not many, we suspect.