Councillor Helene Ritchie's poor parking job was about as far from the perfect crime as you can get.

It wouldn't take Sherlock Holmes very long to figure out the culprit in this case.

Wellington city councillor Helene Ritchie has apologised after she was caught parking across a pedestrian crossing outside Wellington Hospital on Friday.

Those who spotted the bizarre parking job were under no illusion as to who was at fault, given Ritchie's name was writ-large across the door and bonnet of the red Suzuki convertible.

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Ritchie, who is also a Capital and Coast District Health Board member, was quick to take the blame when approached about the incident on Thursday.

"It's mea culpa time, what else can I do?" she said with a chuckle.

READ MORE: Parking fail sees car plunge front-first into Wellington stream

FAIRFAX NZ Wellington city councillor Helene Ritchie has apologised for her parking blunder.

Ritchie said there was no excuse for her poor parking decision, but explained she was in a rush to get to a health board meeting and arrived to find no empty parking spaces.

Construction workers had fenced off several car parks and Ritchie was worried she might miss her opportunity to speak on important health board issues if she spent any longer searching for a space.

After about an hour, a health board staff member noticed the car and offered to move it.

"I certainly don't excuse what I did... and I apologise if it caused any inconvenience to anybody," Ritchie said.

Ritchie was not ticketed, and it appears she was fortunate to avoid a fine.

Parking across a pedestrian crossing is considered a traffic offence on a public road, but because the crossing in question was on health board land those rules do not apply.

However, a spokesman for Capital and Coast said it had a contract with Wilson Parking Services, which enforces the terms and conditions of road use inside the hospital car park.

Ritchie said it was not the first time her car has got her into trouble.

During a previous local body election campaign an opponent of hers was quick to point out her warrant of fitness was out of date as she was driving around in it.