Scilly Trip for Traffic Warden
Discussion
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/cornwall/3208625.stm
Scilly trip for traffic warden
An island with only nine miles of road has been visited by a traffic warden for the first time to crack down on illegal parking.
Dave Robinson was sent the 28 miles from the Cornish mainland to St Mary's - the most populated island in the Isles of Scilly.
But in his first morning in Hugh Town, the island's capital, he did not issue a single ticket because news of his visit had spread like wildfire.
Mr Robinson said some people were glad to see a traffic warden and would like to see one on the island more often.
"I haven't issued any tickets yet because they've all been behaving themselves. I've really enjoyed the visit."
The task of issuing £30 parking fines usually falls to the island's police force, which is made up of a sergeant, a police constable, and in the summer a Pc seconded from the mainland.
Pc Jo Clarke, who is based on St Mary's, which has about 1,600 residents, said motorists parking on double yellow lines in Hugh Town's narrow roads caused access problems for emergency vehicles.
"We have basically got too many vehicles for an island this size.
"There is very limited parking here on Scilly so people tend to abandon their vehicles wherever they can," she said.
Random checks
Vehicles on the Isles of Scilly do not need to pass an MOT, but Pc Clarke said motorists had been warned about out-of-date tax discs and failure to wear seat belts.
Traffic wardens from the mainland could be seconded to St Mary's to carry out random checks again in future or even drafted in over the summer if parking problems do not improve, Pc Clarke said.
Neville Gardner, chief technical officer at the Council of the Isles of Scilly, said Mr Robinson's day-long visit would help preserve the island's slow pace of life.
"The police felt it was appropriate that the traffic warden be brought across to reinforce the message that the rules apply on the Isles of Scilly the same as everywhere else," he said.
They'll be after a scamera next!
Scilly trip for traffic warden
An island with only nine miles of road has been visited by a traffic warden for the first time to crack down on illegal parking.
Dave Robinson was sent the 28 miles from the Cornish mainland to St Mary's - the most populated island in the Isles of Scilly.
But in his first morning in Hugh Town, the island's capital, he did not issue a single ticket because news of his visit had spread like wildfire.
Mr Robinson said some people were glad to see a traffic warden and would like to see one on the island more often.
"I haven't issued any tickets yet because they've all been behaving themselves. I've really enjoyed the visit."
The task of issuing £30 parking fines usually falls to the island's police force, which is made up of a sergeant, a police constable, and in the summer a Pc seconded from the mainland.
Pc Jo Clarke, who is based on St Mary's, which has about 1,600 residents, said motorists parking on double yellow lines in Hugh Town's narrow roads caused access problems for emergency vehicles.
"We have basically got too many vehicles for an island this size.
"There is very limited parking here on Scilly so people tend to abandon their vehicles wherever they can," she said.
Random checks
Vehicles on the Isles of Scilly do not need to pass an MOT, but Pc Clarke said motorists had been warned about out-of-date tax discs and failure to wear seat belts.
Traffic wardens from the mainland could be seconded to St Mary's to carry out random checks again in future or even drafted in over the summer if parking problems do not improve, Pc Clarke said.
Neville Gardner, chief technical officer at the Council of the Isles of Scilly, said Mr Robinson's day-long visit would help preserve the island's slow pace of life.
"The police felt it was appropriate that the traffic warden be brought across to reinforce the message that the rules apply on the Isles of Scilly the same as everywhere else," he said.
They'll be after a scamera next!
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