Motorist assaulted traffic warden after parking machine dispute in Welshpool

A routine parking check in Welshpool escalated into a confrontation that ended with a traffic warden being slapped and threatened after a driver fought with a pay-and-display machine in the Seven Stars car park behind Welshpool Town Hall.

Stephen Doughty, 77, was captured on body-worn camera footage swearing, threatening violence and assaulting Wendy Williams after the machine repeatedly rejected his coins on November 12 last year. Williams, a traffic warden, had been checking the machine when Doughty told her it needed to be fixed. When she later confirmed that no valid ticket had been purchased, he warned her: "If you give me a ticket it will be the last ticket you’ll give." He also said he would "lump" and "thump" her.

Williams told Welshpool Magistrates’ Court that Doughty slapped her hand twice while she held a handheld device and pointed at her face, telling her to "watch it". A civilian employee of Dyfed-Powys Police stepped in and told Doughty not to put his hands on her and to apologise, saying Williams was "on her own doing her job". After the incident, Williams allowed him a further 10 minutes to buy a ticket from the machine.

Doughty, described in court as a retired lorry driver who appeared in a wheelchair, accepted responsibility and expressed regret in his police interview and through his defence solicitor. The court heard he had previous convictions for battery and threatening behaviour. Magistrates fined him £500, ordered him to pay £200 compensation to Williams, a £200 victim surcharge and £85 costs, taking the total penalty to £985.

The case also underlines the pressure on frontline enforcement staff in towns where parking enforcement is often the first point of public contact with local government. Powys County Council says Welshpool has three pay-and-display car parks, Seven Stars, Berriew Street and Church Street, and that Seven Stars is a short-stay car park for motorcars only with a maximum stay of two hours. The council also introduced mobile phone parking payment across all its pay-and-display car parks from 20 May 2025, with new parking charges following from 1 August 2025. In Welshpool, as in many towns, the argument over a single ticket has become a test of whether councils are doing enough to protect the people who enforce the rules.