A day in the strife

A DOZEN parking attendants steadied themselves in Brighton's NCP central office for the day ahead.

As they picked up their walkie-talkies and digital cameras a few in the group were showing signs of strain.

They had just read The Argus and were outraged and frightened by news of a name and shame campaign in which traffic wardens' addresses and photographs could be plastered on the internet for vigilantes.

It may sound extreme but, as parking spaces become more scarce and motorists get more irate, increasing numbers of people are looking for someone to blame.

With their distinctive image, traffic wardens, or to be politically correct, parking attendants, are an easier target than the powers that be in Brighton and Hove City Council.

Since NCP was awarded the contract by the council on July 16, numerous physical assaults have been directed at parking attendants, not to mention the daily round of verbal abuse.

In less than two months, one attendant has been chased down the street by a female resident wielding a hammer, another has been punched in the face by a drunk and, even more worryingly, two female attendants have been attacked.

One female parking attendant was punched by a group of young boys after she put a parking ticket on the car of one of their fathers, and the second case cannot be detailed because it is in the process of court proceedings.

The parking attendants and their superiors want to set the record straight but fear giving their names or having their photographs printed.

Out of the 30 to 40 attendants who patrol the city, none agreed to having their name printed for fear of reprisals.

When The Argus spent a day in the life of a parking attendant, tensions were mounting.

At the start of the day, the parking attendants' supervisor gave the group a quick briefing of what to look out for that day.

After the briefing she said: "We get abuse on a daily basis. It's mainly verbal and we get called some horrific names but you can't respond. It's the same for all of us whatever gender.

"When you get on the street you're not seen as male or female, you're just seen as a a horrible person. It's what I expected when I took the joeb on, but it's hard. "You count it as your lucky day if you don't get some form of abuse."

Out on the street, parking attendant Joe Stanley (not his real name) went on his daily rounds.

Joe, 55, is an ex-police officer used to dealing with outraged individuals. He was not fazed by staring passers-by or honks from motorists and seemed to have a constitution made of steel.

Joe pounds miles of pavement each day looking for cars in contravention of parking laws but although stern-faced, he does show compassion - not a word most people would associate with a parking attendant.

He said: "I don't like to give parking tickets to cars outside the hospital because they are there for a reason. Not every PA thinks like that. You have to use your savvy. You can't just go around like a robot giving a ticket to everyone in sight.

"I believe a PA's job is to ensure the free movement of traffic not to see how many tickets you can give. We don't get any bonuses for how many tickets we print."

Asked why he chose such a controversial career, Joe said: "I was in the services before and it's the kind of work I understand. I got more respect when I was in the police force. Maybe one day when people see we're doing something good miracles may happen. I like serving the community.

"I've noticed a few abusive people but it's how you handle them. People are abusive right across the board from young to old. The other day, there was a really old couple in a car and they were both screaming swear words at me out of their window. I've had no physical abuse though.

"I just ignore them. If you start getting worried about what people say you would never be able to do this job. I think a lot of the female attendants get worried about it each day."

Joe has been pleasantly surprised at how the parking patterns of the city have changed since he started his job in July.

He said: "Things have changed dramatically. Once you couldn't walk down the road without people thinking they could do their own thing. They have come to realise there is an enforcement and it's working.

"The bus companies are happier because there aren't cars parked in bus lanes and drivers often come up and say I'm doing a good job."

As Joe walked along scrutinising the details on car windscreens, his presence caused a ripple of activity.

A woman who had popped into a cake shop in Dyke Road with her toddler swore under her breath on seeing him and ran as fast as she could with toddler in tow to avoid a ticket.

Another woman tried to sweet-talk him into letting her park on yellow lines for an hour while she nipped into a nearby cafe. Even bus drivers stopped and tipped Joe off as to where he could find cars parked where they shouldn't be.

Joe spotted a taxi on double-yellow lines at the Seven Dials roundabout and thought he was about to give his first parking ticket of the day.

However, just as he got out his Husky (the hand-held computer which issues tickets) he was stopped in his tracks by a shouting resident who asked Joe how the city was supposed to run when he was ticketing taxis. Within minutes a passing taxi driver pulled up and told Joe not to issue the ticket.

Next it was the turn of the wife of the taxi driver whose car was causing the offence. She ran up and begged Joe to wait five minutes until her husband got back. Reasonable in the face of adversity, Joe waited as the taxi driver ran back to his cab, pursued by his grateful wife. He put his Husky away.

Joe said: "I always give them time to come out and move the vehicle but if I've already started printing out a ticket I have to issue it.

"If I don't give out any tickets in a day then obviously the job is working. Most people parked on yellow lines have disabled badges or permits and you rarely see anyone parking where they shouldn't now.

"We are not the enemy. We are trying to do something constructive."

Joe logged each road he walked down on to his Husky so the radio controller at NCP's office in North Road could track his attendants' movements. As Joe approached a car parked on double-yellow lines, he again got his Husky at the ready to issue a ticket. But on closer inspection Joe noticed the car had a flat tyre.

He said: "I could give it a ticket, but you've got to weigh it up. They've parked it here because they had to, not because they wanted to."

He said: "I don't get a kick out of issuing tickets at all. My friends are encouraging and don't give me stick. My wife worries about my safety. But at the end of the day I'm doing this to serve the community whatever people think."

Joe's Husky was finally put into action just before lunch.

Spotting a car in a resident's bay without a permit, Joe noted the details on his Husky, took a photograph with his digital camera and slapped the plastic-encased ticket on the windscreen.

The photograph is important evidence in case of appeal. A morning's work was done and Joe had only found one car breaching regulations.

He said: "I hope you're going to report that our job is working. People are getting the message and are parking where they should, not wherever they feel like."