FINES have been handed out to 1,525 motorists caught double parking in Bradford in the past 12 months.

At a meeting of Bradford Council on Tuesday Councillor Nussrat Mohammed (Lab, Heaton), described double parking as a major concern for her constituents.

Double parking is when two cars are parked between traffic and a kerb.

Cllr Mohammed said some residents felt this parking was so common in their neighbourhoods that emergency vehicles would struggle to pass through the street.

She asked what powers the Council had to tackle the issue, and what action had been taken.

A response from the Executive said double parking can be enforced by wardens, although in order to hand out a fine wardens had to witness this parking happening - they could not issue fines based on photos.

The response added: "Council Wardens carry out regular patrols across the district and will issue penalty charge notices.

"I can advise that 1,525 PCNs have been issued for this contravention in the last 12 months.

"Where there is dangerous or obstructive parking or no traffic regulation order, such matters would be dealt with by the police who have powers to uplift vehicles."

Councillors were urged to report any "hotspots" for double parking and further action could be taken in these areas.

At a recent meeting of Bradford Council's Regeneration and Environment Scrutiny Committee, members were told that a high number of missed bin collections were down to careless parking, such as double parking, that prevented bin wagons from passing through a street.