Mourners who were slapped with parking tickets during a funeral in Helston recently have admitted some confusion after some fines were revoked while others were upheld by Cornwall Council.

Cornwall Council's leader ruled out a "blanket" cancellation after around 25 people were issued with penalty charge notices (PCN) during the funeral of popular Nancegollan farmer Blair Hocking at Helston Methodist Church, when they parked on grass verges because Tyacke Road car park was full.

Anna Benney, one of those to receive a fine, said she is "very happy the right thing has been done," after receiving an email on Monday morning confirming that her ticket had been cancelled.

However Morwenna Peters, who was also sanctioned, has been told her fine will be upheld, unless she takes her appeal to the ombudsman.

She said: "I'm slightly confused as to why some have been let off and others haven't.

"They are saying we were causing an obstruction, but I can't see that we were more than anyone else."

She added: "I'm really pleased for those that have got it revoked, that's fantastic."

However, Mrs Benney said: "I don't see why they have decided to cancel ours and other have not got it sorted. It's a bit bitter-sweet."

At a meeting of Helston Town Council on Thursday, mayor Mike Thomas said he had had a "long conversation" with John Pollard, the leader of Cornwall Council, who had "assured me that every individual case would be looked at, but he can't offer a blanket cancellation."

He also said: "Some say the law is the law, some say compassion is what's required. I'm with those who say compassion is required."

More than 500 people attended the funeral on September 25, but after space ran out in the car park they could see no option to park on the verges around nearby Grange Road.

Many of those ticketed believed they had parked well out of the way of pedestrians and left a clear line of sight for motorists, but Cornwall Council said parking enforcement officers had to "enforce in a fair and consistent manner," and that the tickets could only be cancelled on a case-by-case basis by the council's appeals officers.

Out of the original 25 tickets, 18 have been cancelled, two were paid without appeal, and five have been upheld.