It's claimed that traffic wardens across the borough are being put under pressure to issue fines because of an ‘unfair evaluation system'.

The performance of parking officials is being compared to see who is issuing the most tickets, meaning workers are feeling pressured to catch out more drivers. One traffic warden told the Express & Star they had been told they must each issue almost 5 tickets a day in order to meet budget projections.

Dudley Council chiefs insist they doesn't set targets for wardens, however pie charts and other data showing quantities of tickets that have been given out by each worker have been put on notice boards. A warden, who did not want to give his name, told the paper:

“We have been told we have got to achieve 4.7 tickets a day to pay our wages. When I started I was told my job was to keep the streets safe and clear but now we’re being told if we’re not issuing tickets we’re not doing our jobs properly.

“Then they start putting pie charts up and saying ‘so and so did more, you have got to do better’ - it's taken away our discretion

“If someone is a couple of minutes late outside the grace period, sometimes we'd say don’t do it again and give them a slap on the wrist. We can’t do that now.”

Dudley Council said the evaluation system was in place to make sure standards remain high. Cllr Hilary Bills, cabinet member for environmental services, said:

“We are not allowed to set ticket targets for our parking enforcement officers, but like all council employees, we have an ongoing evaluation system in place for our staff.

“This helps us to make sure they are continuing to provide a good service to the public. We only issue tickets to vehicles which are parked illegally, and would remind people of the importance of parking safely.”