Police have caught the man who threatened to burn down the house of a couple who supported proposed Residents' Parking Zones.

Suzanne Gardner, 55, of Clifton Wood, had put her name and contact details on a number of leaflets distributed in support of pilot zones for Kingsdown and Clifton Wood.

In response, she received an obscene email abusing her for supporting the zones and making various implied threats.

The threats were sent out at the beginning of the year but with a fake name.

After several months of investigation, Avon and Somerset police tracked down the culprit.

The 35-year-old from Clifton Wood was given a fixed penalty of £80 for making a "malicious communication".

Mrs Gardner's husband, Stephen Perry, 64, a member of the Yes to RPZ campaign, said: "It's taken months to get there but the police identified the person who sent the email threatening to set our house in Clifton Wood alight at the beginning of the year.

"It has cost the police quite some time to uncover the culprit because of all the computer identity subterfuge that had been used.

"My wife and I are happy with the success of the investigation and are glad the whole thing is over."

A police spokesman said: "After a malicious email was received by a campaigner for residents' parking in the Clifton Wood area of Bristol, an investigation was carried out by a local policing team in Clifton.

"A 35-year-old man from Clifton Wood has been interviewed and was issued with an £80 fixed penalty for making a malicious communication."