THE jolly Conservatives have just announced free hospital parking for NHS staff and relatives of patients. But in true Tory tradition there is always a catch and it doesn’t have a fairytale ending.

The commitment means only those staff who work night shifts and relatives of seriously ill patients will qualify. As for everyone else, it’s hard cheese from the Tories. So if you work in the daytime, or are a cleaner grafting early mornings or an outpatient you will continue to pay for parking.

Also how exactly is this system going to work? One of the qualifications is you must be a seriously ill patient. But who determines what a serious illness is? If it’s this government then you’ve got no hope whatsoever.

Stephen Dixon, Redcar