The town that ran out of parking tickets
A TOWN’S traffic wardens have been unable to issue parking fines for a week – after running out of tickets. Lucky motorists in Hartlepool were let off scot-free when the council’s usual ticket supplier went bust. The council manages more than 2,000 parking spaces and, based on previously published figures, it is estimated around £100,000 a year is collected in fines – an average of about £2,000 a week. A Hartlepool Borough Council spokesman said: ‘Our regular supplier of printed Penalty Charge Notice tickets has gone into liquidation, something officers were not aware of until they tried to place a repeat order. ‘Officers found a new company and placed an order on Thursday, May 17, and were told delivery would be made within ten days. Unfortunately, this did not happen and we ran out on May 30.’ The issue came to light when a visitor to a seaside car park at Seaton Carew was given a warning, not a ticket, by an enforcement officer. But the parking free-for-all is over. New tickets were delivered on Wednesday.