A HUGELY-controversial parking enforcement company which left countless motorists seeing red has quit Keighley.

And the departure of widely-criticised Excel Parking Services has been welcomed by community leaders.

Scores of complaints were made by enraged drivers about the practices of the firm, which has always denied any wrongdoing.

This week, the company's signage and cameras had been removed from the Cavendish Retail Park car park.

Keighley MP John Grogan said that even in just the few weeks he'd been in post, he had received approaches from several hopping-mad motorists.

"I think the truth is that most people in Keighley will be glad to see the back of Excel Parking," he said.

"Since I was elected last month, I've been receiving a serious complaint about its management of the car park at least once a fortnight."

Mr Grogan added that he was intending to set-up a meeting with the company now responsible for supervising the site, Hertfordshire-based firm G24 Ltd.

"I'd hope things can only get better under its stewardship," he said.

Paul Howard, manager of Keighley Business Improvement District (BID), shares the hope that the change will bring about improvements.

"We hope the fact there's a new management company in place reduces the number of complaints this car park generates – and that the company handles things in a more pragmatic way," he said.

"Yes this is private land and Excel was allowed to deal with it how it saw fit.

"But it obviously wasn't working out well in terms of the reputation of the town centre or the reputations of the businesses based at that site."

A spokesman for Excel Parking said the firm had been a tenanted occupier of the car park, but that its operation of the site had come to an end following the expiry of the lease on July 19.

G24 Ltd declined to comment when approached this week, referring the inquiry instead to what it said was the car park's owner, B&M Stores.

However, B&M Stores denied it owned the site.

The Telegraph & Argus' sister paper, The Keighley News, has received many complaints about Excel Parking's management of the car park, with shoppers claiming they received tickets even when payment machines were broken.

And users of the retail park's Sports Direct gym said they were ticketed when they legitimately took advantage of a two-hour free parking offer for members.

One user of the car park said Excel never had planning permission for the signs and cameras it used to enforce its rules.

But Bradford Council said the use of the land as a regulated car park was lawful and both the signage and cameras are immune from planning enforcement action.

An Excel Parking spokesman said: "Signage and cameras installed at the retail park had the benefit of permitted development rights. We've previously provided evidence to Bradford Council that the cameras had been in-situ for more than four years.

"Indeed, there had been signage located at the car park since we started running it in 2000.

"In November 2015 Bradford Council confirmed it was 'satisfied there was no impact on the amenity of the area caused by the cameras or advertisements', and advised 'that the case be closed with no further action using the council's powers of expediency'.

"The case was closed in June 2016, with no further action deemed necessary."