"Over-zealous" parking wardens were today urged to ease off after York city centre traders complained they were making life dangerous - and could strangle their businesses.

The protests, part of a barrage of complaints to the Evening Press, come as the city battles back after being hit by the November floods and as stores fight for survival against out-of-town shopping competition.

Businesses in Fossgate and Walmgate said they feared for their lives as they unloaded goods, because delivery drivers were having to park in exposed places to avoid getting a ticket.

A delivery man claimed that he came within inches of being hit by a car as he was unloading his goods in Walmgate on Wednesday.

And traders complained that too many customers were getting booked while they were trying to pick up goods.

The owner of Stubbs ironmongers, which is closing after almost 100 years in Fossgate, claimed parking laws and traffic restrictions meant the city centre store could no longer compete with the suburbs where access was easier, and high-profile caterer Diana Naish has also claimed that restrictions are making it hard to deliver food to clients.

Hambleton Pine and Cane manager Wendy Hudson claimed a lot of the new wardens, employed by City of York Council, were being over-zealous. "They are a nightmare," she said.

Paul Lanning, owner of P and S Hobbies and Models on the corner of Walmgate, said: "Five of my customers in the last three weeks have all had tickets. They're not even being given ten minutes to pick up their goods."

In Gillygate, Philip Smith, manager of Vickers Hi-Fi, said he had received a letter from the council warning that parking restrictions would be strictly enforced in future.

Adam Sinclair, chairman of York Chamber of Trade, said it supported efforts to "unclutter" city centre streets, but said there needed to be an understanding of the practical problems experienced while goods were being loaded and unloaded.

Roland Harris, chief executive of York and North Yorkshire Chamber of Commerce, said he supported the legitimate enforcement of bylaws, but added: "We need a certain degree of common sense, and sensitivity and flexibility."

But Bill Bird, City of York Council's parking services manager, strongly denied wardens were being unfair or excessive. He said: "The parking attendants will enforce the waiting and loading restrictions in a firm, fair and professional manner.

"I've had many reports of traffic wardens turning a blind eye in the past, but we will not condone people breaking the law. The majority of people who obey the waiting restrictions would not want us to ignore those who are blatantly contravening them."

Mr Bird said anybody with a valid reason for being outside the shops has the opportunity to apply for a waiver through the council.

But he added: "People shouldn't just assume that because they've got away with it in the past, they'll get away with it in the future."

Updated: 14:58 Friday, February 16, 2001