Bristol Zoo Car Park Attendant

For those who don't know, I live in Bristol. I'm even a paid-up member of Bristol Zoo Gardens, and visit there pretty much weekly. I don't pay to park, because there's always plenty of free parking in the streets around the Zoo if you don't mind walking for a couple of minutes.

But there's a large Zoo car park out the front where you can pay to park if you're so inclined...

Well, this morning in the car on the way to work I was listening to the podcast of Friday's Radio 4 News Quiz, and Phill Jupitus told the following story which he claimed was from last week's Bristol Evening Post:

Outside Bristol Zoo there is a car-park where hundreds of cars and dozens of coaches park on a daily basis. Until recently there was a very genial fellow with an official looking hat, yellow waistcoat and a ticket machine charging cars £1 and coaches £5 for the privilege.
This parking attendant worked there for about 25 years, through wind, rain and scorching Bristol summers, eight hours a day, six days a week (and Bank Holidays). He was an industrious worker with an exemplary sickness record.
One day he didn't turn up for work. “Oh dear” say Bristol Zoo management as chaos descends on the car park, “we’d better phone up Bristol City Council and get them to send a new parking attendant.”
“Err...no” say the Council, “that car park is your responsibility.”
“But” say the Zoo, “he was employed by you, wasn’t he?”
“Not us”, say the council.

Brilliant story!

But then I tried to check out the Evening Post article in question...

And...

Guess what...???

It's a urban myth!

What a shame!

ThisIsBristol tell the story of its circulation over the last couple of years here.