A Cornish policeman travelled 20 miles to lecture a St Agnes woman on leaving her dustbin out.
Debbie Allen used the dustbin to keep a parking space free opposite her home.
"When I go shopping with the kids it's difficult to unload the car and keep an eye on them so I try to keep the spot free," she said.
"I've probably only done it on a dozen occasions but obviously someone didn't like it and reported me."
The sheepish bobby, who had trekked from far-away Newquay, warned Ms Allen that she might be booked for obstructing the highway - even though the parking space in question was hedged in by other cars.
"To be fair to the policeman he seemed to be embarrassed at having to come all this way just for a bin," Ms Allen added.
Lee-Anne Bass, spokesperson for the woman car insurance specialists at CoverGirl, said: "She shouldn't really have been using the bin to reserve a space, but sending a policeman all that way to tell her off seems like a waste of resources. Surely a phone call or a letter would have been more appropriate?
"Motor insurance companies realised ladies were safer drivers ages ago and rewarded us with cheap women car insurance premiums," she added. "Maybe it was a male neighbour with sour grapes who reported Ms Allen in the first place?"