Auckland mayor Len Brown's car snapped parking in loading zone

IT systems engineer Lloyd Kenny said today he was waiting for a bus in Nuffield St, Newmarket, on August 6 when Mr Brown's mayoral Holden stopped in the zone for at least 10 minutes.

Auckland Mayor Len Brown has been dobbed in after his chauffeur-driven car was spotted parked in a loading zone.

IT systems engineer Lloyd Kenny said today he was waiting for a bus in Nuffield St, Newmarket, on August 6 when Mr Brown's mayoral Holden stopped in the zone for at least 10 minutes.

"I witnessed the car pulling up at 3pm, Brown getting out and the car still being there at 3.10pm when my bus arrived," he said.

"It was starting to rain, the driver got out an umbrella from the boot, gave it to Len Brown - they spoke briefly and Len Brown walked off, heading south on Nuffield St.

"The driver also left the vehicle - didn't see where he went".

Mr Kenny sent a photograph of the Holden to the Herald after seeing a picture on the newspaper's website of an Auckland Council car illegally parked over a footpath on Monday in one of two Orakei streets where a traffic warden had ticketed 27 residents overnight last week for the same thing.

The council has owned up to the misdemeanour, saying it will "remind staff of their need to observe the road code."

Asked to respond to the latest photo, a spokesman for the mayor said he had been dropped off in Nuffield Street by his driver in order to attend a business meeting on the day in question.

"The driver has been reminded that the road code must be followed at all times."

Only goods vehicles are allowed in loading zones such as Nuffield St's, and for no longer than five minutes.

The penalty for illegally parking in a loading zone is $40.

Mr Kenny said he paid particular attention to the mayoral car, having himself been "pinged" for parking in another loading zone around the corner for just three minutes.

He accused the mayor of being "a law unto himself."

It was not the first time one of Mr Brown's cars has been photographed in the wrong place.

He apologised on social media last month after a Herald reader caught him being interviewed in Carlton Gore Rd after arriving in an electric car which was parked in a new bike lane.

The car, carrying council branding, was next to a free electricity charging station.

An Auckland Transport spokesman said only warranted enforcement officers could take action against people parked illegally, and they could not act on photographic evidence provided by members of the public.