AN irate Ledbury motorist says a damaged and poorly marked drop kerb near the town's swimming pool is a parking ticket gold mine for Herefordshire Council.

After getting a ticket and failing in his appeal, the resident used a Freedom of Information request to show there has been a 450 per cent increase in the number of fixed penalty notices issued in Lawnside Road over the past few years.

And the chairman of the Ledbury Traders' Association, Annette Crowe, says the county council is treating the market town as "a cash cow" and that "overzealous" traffic wardens are putting off shoppers and visitors as well as targeting local workers.

Mrs Crowe, a former Mayor of Ledbury, said: "I totally agree with the gentleman and I have sympathy. Overzealous traffic wardens affect us as traders. People pull up innocently; they get a ticket, they get cross and they don't come back. They are putting people off.

"And with it costing £20 a week to park on St Katherine's car park, for example, people working in town are looking for alternatives, and if someone on a low income gets a ticket, that's their food money wiped out for a week."

Mrs Crowe, a Homend retailer, believes other areas, including the High Street, are being targeted as much as Lawnside Road.

But Lawnside Road is a street favoured for parking by local workers in particular, who seek to avoid paying £20 a week on the town centre car parks.

The fined resident, who does not wish to be named, believes Herefordshire Council is "deliberately targeting parked cars with fines in Ledbury".

He added: "Lawnside Road houses the town’s swimming pool, a car park and access to a number of homes and flats. Along one side there is unrestricted parking and it is a well used parking road for those either working in town or using the swimming pool complex, without having to pay for parking.

"However, there is a strange fact about this road: since 2016, when 11 tickets were issued, there has been a 450 per cent increase in the number of fixed penalty notices issued, with 52 in 2017 and 50 in 2018, up to mid-December, not relating to car park overstays and other car park related penalties".

And the angered motorist has highlighted one area of particular concern.

He said: "Half way along Lawnside Road there is a dropped kerb – allowing those who need these to cross safely – where the other side of the road has double yellow lines. The problem is that the dropped kerb has no other markings, such as yellow lines or a white ‘H’ mark to signify the need to keep it clear.

"This increase in penalty notices has been solely due to the council refusing to make the dropped kerb more prominent.

"It would make sense to make the dropped kerb more prominent in order to prevent motorists from incurring these fines. The dropped kerb is completely broken up and badly maintained and it makes one wonder how bad it has to be before it’s unusable."

A Herefordshire Council spokesman said: "Parking a vehicle fully or partially across a dropped kerb is an offence which may be subject to enforcement action.

"Whilst the council would naturally prefer motorists to be attentive to where they park, our civil enforcement officers will, where it is necessary and appropriate to do so, issue a penalty charge notice to vehicles owners that have parked inconsiderably and caused an obstruction."