A VOUCHER parking scheme in Lancaster's Bulk Road area has back-fired, claim residents, who say that they - and their visiting friends - are the only ones who ever get booked.

The scheme which operates in the Ridge, Hinde, Green and Albion Street area, has always been a 'bone of contention' says Albion Street resident, Pete Marsh, because local people did not feel their particular area suffered from commuter parking.

But matters came to a head after the area was still receiving "attention" from traffic wardens when heavy snow fall and icy roads made moving vehicles dangerous.

Mr Marsh claims that the majority of residents, or friends of residents, on his street, have had fixed penalty parking tickets since the scheme began.

The problem occurs when the visitor's parking card is not displayed quickly enough, says Mr Marsh, or when guests oversleep and the card is not updated.

"It means that when a friend appears you have to be on your toes, scrabbling around for a visitor's parking card instead of welcoming them in a relaxed, bureaucracy-free manner".

Many of the residents are students, says Mr Marsh, and have lots of visitors. "When you're having a party you don't always think of parking tickets."

One student became so incensed that he wrote a dissertation on the subject for his university course, said Mr Marsh.

Cllr Ian Barker who represents Bulk Ward for the city council, said he had asked the city engineer to review parking policy in the area.

The problem was that the scheme covered three areas which had different requirements.

Residents around De Vitre Street had asked for a residents' voucher scheme because of parking by commuters and shoppers, and parking in the Bulk Road had eased when the K-Shoes factory was closed. But he agreed that residents in the Albion Street area did not want a voucher scheme. "It needs looking at again, as separate areas," he said.

Councillor Barker said he would also be asking the city engineer about what happened during the recent bad weather.