IN last week's article headed Parallel Parking? you quote council deputy leader Cllr Brian Robinson (Con Mitchel­dean) as saying: "We had an income (from paid parking and fines presumably?) of £132,000 and a net surplus of £5,800 (over the same period one hopes and after the cost of parking operations have been deducted, including management costs etc as the word 'net' is used).

He is then quoted as going on to say: "That means we have spent £132,000 less on managing our car parks than had they been free."

No it doesn't.

It he is not misquoted, I am sure that the average village idiot will not need me to explain the financial illiteracy of these statements.

If he has been misquoted by your esteemed publication, and thereby made to look financially incompetent, then I would expect his letter of correction to be hitting your office as a matter of urgency.

He is also reported as stating, in response to questions, that the net cost of running each car park was not available for individual car parks.

If this is true it suggests that my previous statements in the Review of the council's financial illiteracy on the parking business is now matched by incompetence in financial record-keeping.

Cllr McMahon (Lab Coleford East) has previously stated that if Labour get elected they will get rid of the parking charges.

On the early day figures dragged out of the council – but only after UKIP invoked the Freedom of Information Act – getting rid of paid parking would not only be good straight forward cost-saving with no harm, but good for the people of the Forest in terms of convenience and good for the retail businesses in our towns. I look forward to the day.

I shall look out for the leader of the council's letter of correction and castigation of the Review for incorrect reporting, although I shall not hold my breath.

Once again, I anticipate that the Review has got it right and on Forest towns parking matters, the council has once again shown itself to be financially illiterate.

– Tom Atkinson, Lydney.

•Editor's note: I am happy that our report was an accurate reflection of the meeting.