A PARKING ticket blitz has sparked a row between an auction mart boss and York council chiefs.

Auctioneer Richard Tasker, from York Livestock Centre, has accused City of York Council of "sneaky and underhand tactics", after about 15 vehicles were ticketed after parking on the roadside outside the auction centre on the A166 at Murton.

Mr Tasker said although he did not condone people parking illegally on the roadside, he objected to the way signs prohibiting parking had been put up without warning since their last machinery sale a month ago.

"It just leaves a bitter taste in your mouth, they do it secretly and without any consultation with the local community", he said.

Mr Tasker said it would be preferable if the council sent out letters in advance before they decide to blitz a particular area.

York Livestock Centre is one of the largest of its kind in the country and attracts members of the farming community from throughout the UK to its auctions.

On Wednesday, between 8,000 and 10,000 people attended 12 separate machinery auctions, bidding for some 5,000 lots.

Parking at the auction centre is free, and there is a car park fronting the road which holds 650 cars, as well as overspill parking with room for more than 3,000 vehicles.

Farmer John Wright, 40, from West Woodside near Doncaster, turned up late to the auction, and said there was nowhere to park - so he parked on the grass verge.

When he came out he realised he had had a lucky escape and that many of the vehicles parked around him had been ticketed, but his had not.

He said: "I have been coming here since I was 12 and I have never seen a car get a ticket here in all that time.

"I couldn't see that the cars were causing a problem because they were pulled right up on the grass verge and weren't doing any harm."

A spokeswoman for City of York Council said: "The A166 is a Clearway and is clearly signed as such, so there should be no parking down there.

"We were responding to complaints from other road users, and as a result will be stepping up patrols in this area."

Updated: 10:08 Friday, October 15, 2004