A GROUP of Evesham traders say they will miss out this Christmas because over zealous parking attendants are driving shoppers away.

Earlier this year responsibility for parking passed from the police to the local authority, Wychavon District Council.

The council's new style wardens have clamped down on illegal parking and handed £30 tickets out to anyone who stays too long.

In Vine Street, where there is a one hour limit with no return within an hour, traders say that the there should be more leeway to persuade people to stay longer. In other parts of the town the limit is 30 minutes.

Margaret Carrington, manager of The Needleworker, in Vine Street, said: "People do not browse any more, they just grab one item and go. They are too scared to mooch among the shops, they see the yellow uniforms and get in their cars."

Mrs Carrington said that Wychavon District Council should consider more free parking at weekends to attract Christmas shoppers.

"All the council has done for me is put up my business rates by £3,500 and take away my customers. People will go to Stratford or Cheltenham because we haven't got enough to offer them here."

Pub landlord Colin Badham, who runs the Royal Oak in Vine Street, has picked up 12 parking tickets himself so far - clocking up nearly £400 in fines - and claims that the restrictions are affecting business too.

"It's hard to quantify but it must be having an effect.

"I had a customer come in last week for a meal with his wife and children, then they just went to look round the shops and got a parking ticket. They won't come again.

"People are rushing in and spend only three quarters of an hour round the shops and then go because the wardens are spot on with their checks. If they come round at nine o'clock they will be back at 10 and won't let you go five minutes over."

Mr Badham, who lives on the pub premises, said: "I have nowhere to park. My car is coming and going all day long and I've been inundated with tickets. The whole system is over zealous and this is driving people out of the town".

Wychavon's parking services manager Christine Hiden said: "We cannot comment on individual cases but parking tickets are only issued to vehicles which are contravening the parking regulations.

"The council does not believe that suspending parking charges in the car parks will benefit traders as without charging an enforcement the car parks would become full with Long Stay vehicles without any turnover of spaces. This would clearly not help attract customers to the town's businesses.

"Decriminalisation of parking is helping reduce traffic congestion on our streets and makes it much easier for visitors to the town to find parking spaces."