A CRACKDOWN on illegal parking in York will see an army of new-style traffic wardens armed with new powers and digital cameras.

The city's eight police traffic wardens will be replaced by 28 council wardens who can patrol yellow lines as well as their existing pay-and-display patches. Currently there are 20 council wardens.

The revolution is aimed at ridding the streets of rogue parking - a major cause of congestion and a bugbear with residents who responded to City of York Council surveys.

Wayward motorists are also being warned that higher fines are being introduced along with the new measures, which will be enforced with the help of new hand-held electronic notebooks incorporating a digital camera.

This will be used to take a picture of an offender's car in an illegal position, in case the motorist challenges the penalty.

York Council will introduce its Decriminalised Parking Enforcement on October 8, after which motorists can expect a £40 penalty should they transgress, dropping to £20 if they pay within 14 days. If they don't it will rise to £60.

Currently the fine stands at £20, rising to £40 if not paid within a month.

New-style City of York Council parking tickets will be issued.

Should a motorist refuse to pay, the matter would be put before an independent adjudicator instead of going to court.

Peter Evely, the council's head of highway regulation, said: "York has very big problems with on-street parking. By changing the law and making offences civil ones, Parliament makes it possible for local authorities to enforce the yellow line areas.

"At the moment, areas such as Heworth, Haxby and Acomb seldom see a traffic warden and people have become used to ignoring the law.

"We are not aiming at making lives difficult. We are trying to give the roads back to the motorist and the pavements back to pedestrians."

Picture - DIM VIEW: Gwyn Roberts, a City of York Council parking attendant, shows one of the cameras that will be used to record offences

Picture: Garry Atkinson