PARKING wardens are accused of flouting regulations to dish out as many tickets as possible.

Motorists say the uniformed officers swarm into council car parks just as parking becomes free at the end of the day.

They are being accused of attempting to catch out drivers whose tickets run out before the 6pm cut-off.

One was even photographed writing a ticket after the 6pm deadline.

One Beverley commuter is so fed up, he snapped a warden putting a ticket on someone's car after charging had finished.

Paul Bell, steward at the Grosvenor Club in Walkergate, Beverley, said: "I don't leave work until 6pm so by the time I get to Spencer Street car park, it's past the time for charging.

"There was a warden writing out a ticket. I was so angry about it, I took a picture.

"I park in that car park six days a week so they know my car. If I'm ten minutes late, I know I'll be ticketed. I've been done eight times, there's no leeway."

John Skidmore, head of streetscene services at East Riding Council, denied wardens deliberately target car parks at certain times.

He said: "First thing in a morning and last thing at night, they work in pairs for safety reasons.

"There is no deliberate enforcement action on any day of the week or in any area of the East Riding."

Mr Skidmore says wardens are paid until 7pm and it is justified for them to issue tickets to vehicles if they spot the ticket expired before the 6pm deadline.

Civil enforcement officers took over from the police in November after the force said it no longer had the manpower to do the job.

As well as maximising the number of penalty notices handed out in car parks, they are accused of lacking a common sense approach to on-street parking.

East Riding councillor Bryan Pearson and Beverley Mayor Councillor Peter Astell have both raised problems with Mr Skidmore after receiving a wave of complaints about the wardens, who wear distinctive blue uniforms.

Mr Pearson said: "These bluebottles are buzzing around the town causing mayhem. In the interests of the people of Beverley and the people who come here to shop, we need fair play."

Wardens have issued tickets to:

A builder parked on double yellow lines on a Sunday so he could access his tools.

A resident who had to park hanging over the end of a three-car bay because other vehicles had been left untidily. The bay was not correctly marked.

A shopper who parked in Wednesday Market on a Wednesday when regulations don't apply because the area is leased to traders.

Mr Skidmore said: "We have reiterated to the wardens that if they see people working who are parked illegally, we will make them aware.

"We have further meetings planned with the team."