YOU have been warned - Craven District Council is clamping down on those motorists who continue to disobey the rules regarding parking on the market setts.

John Sykes, the council's head of housing and environmental health, said the problem had got worse even though the Craven Herald recently revealed that the litter problem on the High Street was caused by people parking on the setts illegally.

The report stated that the council could not clean up after the market had gone because there were too many cars obstructing the cleaners' path.

"On Monday night, the sweeper could not get on the setts at all," said Mr Sykes.

He is now warning motorists who continue to park on the setts before 6.45pm to expect a parking ticket from police who have specifically been asked to enforce the Traffic Order.

Insp Peter Lambert, local area police commander in Skipton, said: "As duties permit, Sgt Kevin Wilson or another PC and a traffic warden will be down there and checking the situation."

Mr Sykes explained the reason for the action was that the council spent a lot of public money on the cleansing service to try keep the streets as litter free as possible, but the parked cars were not allowing them to do their job satisfactorily.

"Our cleansing of Skipton High Street on market days is wholly dependent upon our services being able to access the setts immediately after the stalls are removed," said Mr Sykes.

The Market Rules require all traders to be off the setts by 6pm and the Traffic Order prohibits the parking on the setts until after 6.45pm. This allows the cleansing services a chance to sweep the area and keep it litter free.

Despite signs on the street which clearly state the prohibited times, many drivers ignore them and park in the way of the road sweepers.

"This is clearly hampering our cleansing services and can prevent the council fulfilling its obligation to maintain the High Street in a clean, litter free condition," said Mr Sykes.

Mr Lambert said the police would be assisting the council and the market but he hoped people would quickly learn to abide by the rules because he only wanted to be giving out tickets as a last resort.

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