MOTORISTS beware... a traffic warden "hit squad" is coming to a Worcester street near you.

Worcester City Council has launched a major clampdown on parking cheats, following a lengthy recruiting drive that has seen the number of city traffic wardens double inside 12 months.

Now a new seven-days-a-week "roving traffic patrol" has been let loose on Worcester's streets, aiming to target hot spots outside the city centre where the council believes motorists have been getting away with parking infringements for far too long.

Top of the hit list will be key problem areas such as the streets close to Worcestershire Royal Hospital and the areas around schools at picking up and dropping off times.

But nowhere will escape the crackdown - all residential areas are to be targeted in a bid to end the parking congestion which makes so many people's lives a misery.

Speaking at a meeting of the city's scrutiny committee, Neville Sheldrick, Worcester's head of transportation, said: "We want to be able to cover the city right up to its boundaries. In the past we've concentrated on the centre, where you find the main congestion - we now have the staffing to go out into the wards and suburbs. That's where our roving patrols come in. We're looking at a pattern of places where we turn up unannounced and apply parking regulations. We will do it in a controlled fashion, and nowhere will be ignored."

Mr Sheldrick said the number of city traffic wardens had fallen steadily since 2003, but has now been restored to its previous level.

He said the crackdown would be self-financing rather than money-making, with the extra revenue from fines funding the six new wardens.

The announcement was widely praised at the meeting, with committee chairman Labour Councillor Geoff Williams describing it as "an initiative that many residents and members will welcome."

Cabinet member for urban renaissance Councillor David Tibbutt said councillors would be able to influence where the patrols struck, but warned people should not expect too much, too quickly.

And Mr Sheldrick added: "People won't just be able to pick up the phone and we'll come running. The public must understand the limits of our powers. We are not able to tow vehicles away. And we have no powers against cars parked on the pavement - highways obstructions are dealt with by the police."

There were words of warning too from Tory Councillor Andy Roberts, who highlighted the lack of parking spaces in the city. "There has to be a more integrated approach to this problem," he said. "There may be a point where the public says hang on, this is a money-maker'."