Suggestions for easing parking congestion and creating more spaces for visitors were hammered out at a public meeting in Bromyard.

They include allocating spaces to traders in Tenbury Road car park, creating time limits on free car parks and introducing charges at the Rowberry Street car park.

The possibility of purchasing the Hop Pole car park from Herefordshire Council and identifying possible sites for extra car parks was also suggested.

The meeting, last Thursday at the Falcon Hotel, was attended by about 30 people, including members of the public, traders and town councillors.

The plan now is to hold a second meeting at the Falcon Hotel on Wednesday, April 20, at 7.30pm, when the proposals will be put to representatives of the highways authority.

Pearl Briggs, chairman of Bromyard Town Council, which called the first meeting, urged more people come along and make their feelings known.

"I'm always stopped in the street by people saying there's nowhere to park in the town," she said.

"We need to find a way forward, if we want visitors to keep coming to the town."

Town councillor Nick Cronin said: "People living and working in the town park in the Rowberry Street car park where it is free all day, so other people can't get in."

Herefordshire council is currently working to extend on-street waiting times in the centre of Bromyard, but traders are unhappy about the delay.

Christie Porteous of Christie Classics, in the Square, said: "Four people came into the shop recently and wanted to try things on, but they couldn't because they had to get back to their cars."

She wants to see more more parking at the bottom end of the town to attract visitors.