Fiona Phillips has threatened to sue Wandsworth Council over an "unfair" £600 parking ticket fine.

The GMTV presenter was assigned a £40 fine for not paying and displaying a ticket, however, claiming that the ticket had been displayed correctly Phillips refused to pay the fine on time. Writing letters to the council reportedly showing evidence that the ticket was valid, Phillips admits that she then ignored all demands to pay up as a "point of principle" and as a result the fine rose to £582.40.

It was not until bailiffs arrived to tow away her car worth £12,000 that the presenter began to seek legal help. She said: "I am the victim of an over-zealous parking attendant who wanted to bump up his ticket quota. In my view it was harassment.

"So a £40 fine for something I didn't do has turned into a bill of nearly £600. I paid up only because they took their threats one step too far."

Phillips has now said that she intends to sue Wandsworth Council, speaking in her Daily Mirror column she said: "They do the same thing every day to people more vulnerable than me.

"They're soon going to wish they'd never started this."

A spokesman for Wandsworth Council said: "Most people know that it's never a good idea to ignore legal warning letters. However, by her own admission that's exactly what Ms Phillips did.

"She claims she had a pay and display voucher on show in her car. Yet we have a photograph of the vehicle at the time and it's quite clear there was no voucher in the windscreen or side windows.

"She was written to and advised how to appeal but she chose to ignore this advice and all the letters she received. That's why bailiffs were appointed."