A hotelier says "ticket crazy" traffic wardens are driving business out of Bradford city centre.

Now John Pennington, owner of the Pennington Midland Hotel at Forster Square wants the 22-strong squad of city centre wardens halved and has called for consistent operations.

A police spokesman said 5,305 people had been booked for offences including neglect of pedestrian safety, obstruction and illegal parking between January and July this year. It compares with 6,122 last year.

Mr Pennington spoke out as a 40-foot long articulated lorry stood for more than an hour on double yellow lines in Cheapside yesterday when the driver had a problem.

But he said: "If it had been a car it would have been booked in a couple of minutes. When it comes to motorists some of the wardens are ticket crazy."

But today the vice-chairman of Bradford Council's transportation planning and design committee Councillor Jack Womersley said: "I think it's the other way round and motorists are too hard on traffic wardens.

"You know where you can and cannot park and the wardens sometimes put up with abuse, anger and stress beyond all reason.

"I have no sympathy with people who flout the rules but I have seen people with genuine problems treated very fairly."

But Mr Pennington said: "Things should be made easier for the motorists in the city centre, not harder.

"I think we should be removing half of the traffic wardens because it is counter productive and too strict. It is harsh on genuine shoppers who can get delayed for about ten minutes then get booked."

Coun Womersley said: "People are sick and tired of seeing cars parked on bends and pavements and so on. Motorists cannot be relied on to park properly."

He said the Council was watching closely the pilot schemes in the London Boroughs where Councils employ their own wardens and the proceeds from parking tickets were ploughed back into services. "It is something which we may take on."

Detective Chief Inspector John Hawley said: "The wardens are a valued part of the police force and do an excellent job in ensuring free traffic flow, minimising obstructions and enhancing public safety."

The chairman of Bradford Retail Action Group Jeff Frankel said: "The traffic wardens are there to do a job and have a lot of other functions."

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