A traffic warden's job is a thankless one.

Since their prime duty is to dole out parking fines, many must be resigned to the fact they will seldom score highly in a popularity poll.

Yet it is hard not to feel a twinge of sympathy for the one traffic warden now responsible for patrolling both Haywards Heath and Burgess Hill.

Traders and residents in both towns know that parking spaces are at a premium.

Firm, sensible control of spaces is obviously needed to prevent inconvenient and potentially-dangerous abuses of the system.

So Brian Patfield, the warden now responsible for covering both beats, is bound to have his work cut out.

The temptation for drivers may be to cheer, after all their chances of getting away with illegal parking must remain quite high.

Yet no one benefits through parking chaos, with the consequent dangers of recklessly-parked cars clogging roads and obstructing traffic.

So we should pity the poor traffic warden. If just this once.