A SHOPWORKER fined £105 by a controversial CCTV van says the council is ‘worse than cowboy wheel clampers’.
Terri Shaw from Saughall Road, Blacon, was furious after the council vehicle twice caught her being dropped off in a Bridge Street taxi rank close to work when she was recovering from a broken toe.
Mrs Shaw asked The Chronicle to investigate after a former police officer acquaintance suggested the CCTV van may be breaking the regulations.
This is because it often parks in the pedestrianised zone and on double yellow lines, but the council says the CCTV van is exempt.
Mrs Shaw said: “The council is worse than cowboy wheel clampers. The motivation is not to ensure the free flow of traffic but to get money from decent people whose only crime is to get dropped off for work or to go on a shopping trip. No wonder the shops are empty.
“Adding insult to injury is the fact the CCTV van flouts the very regulations everyone else has to obey. It parks in the pedestrianised zone and on double yellow lines. It’s double standards.
“On the side of the van are the words ‘Your council: supporting your community’. What a joke!”
The Chroniclehas witnessed the CCTV van arrive in a car park for ‘local shops only’ at the Bache, whereupon the officers walked to Upton Drive to carry out their duties.
Council spokeswoman Rachel Ashley said the CCTV van was exempt from pedestrianisation regulations.
She said: “Certain vehicles require written authorisation from the council. These include the CCTV car which is occasionally required in order to carry out enforcement duties in this area.”
With the respect to the Bache incident, she said it was likely the officers decided to save time by using a space for a short period rather than park a distance away while they investigated a contravention.
