York motorists' celebrations at the possible demise of the traffic warden may be premature. For years the wardens have done an excellent - albeit unpopular - job, keeping the city traffic flowing.

Some other local authorities have chosen to replace traffic wardens with clamp-happy private contractors, who make a profit from motorists' misery. We must hope City of York Council, which is making reassuring noises about a "customer-friendly" service, does not go down this route.

Or the unlikely cry will go up: "Come back traffic wardens - all is forgiven!"

Converted for the new archive on 30 June 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.