THREE temporary traffic wardens will be employed to police Great Yarmouth seafront during the summer in order to avoid parking chaos. The county council has agreed fund the three full-time posts as motorists flout parking laws in light of the enforcement shortage.

THREE temporary traffic wardens will be employed to police Great Yarmouth seafront during the summer in order to avoid parking chaos.

The county council has agreed fund the three full-time posts as motorists flout parking laws in light of the enforcement shortage.

Since November last year there has been just one traffic warden covering the borough - from Hopton to Potter Heigham - following a delay in the handover of parking enforcement from the police to local councils.

At its meeting on Monday, Norfolk County Council's area committee for Yarmouth was updated on the current state-of-play on plans for civil parking enforcement.

David Law, traffic manager at Norfolk Police, said the seven full time traffic wardens once employed by the force had moved into others roles in anticipation of the de-criminalisation of parking.

Conservative councillor Jim Shrimplin said he understood several former traffic wardens had become police community support officers and questioned whether staff had been encouraged to apply for other vacancies within the police.

Mr Law said: “If they knew their jobs would go in two years' time and if there was a chance to transfer they would because people want long term security in their work.”

Referring to the situation as a “sorry saga” Labour councillor John Holmes said people who used the town centre faced problems brought about by the fact the police no longer fund traffic wardens.

Agreeing with him, Tory councillor Bert Collins said: “Right the way through the summer there is illegal parking and we can do nothing about it.”

Labour's Trevor Wainwright accused the borough council of “not having the bottle” to adopt civil parking enforcement several years ago when it had the chance.

The county council has proposed to part fund the existing number of traffic wardens in the county and it is feared the final handover of civil parking enforcement will be delayed further because of the hold-up in local government re-organisation.