THEY were intended to free up police officers and "decriminalise" the whole business of parking.

But the newly introduced parking warden service has not got off to an auspicious start.

In Blackburn we have already seen police officers who have had to turn out to support wardens because of fears of what might happen when they were confronted by angry motorists.

Last month in Burnley a police car was booked when it was left on a taxi rank while an officer investigated an alleged crime.

A month earlier in Eccles, Greater Manchester, a warden gave a parking ticket to a rabbit hutch left on a yellow line outside a pet shop.

Today the sublime becomes the ridiculous with news that a Burnley warden slapped a £30 ticket on a bus driver after he stopped at a bus stop on a road with yellow lines.

The council says the bus stop and sign should not have been there but they "recognise the confusion they could have caused".

That's plain daft.

The warden should have had the common sense to recognise that a bus which had halted at a marked bus stop was not a legitimate target and highlighted the situation to the council.

Bus drivers have enough to concentrate on without having to worry about wardens.