There is bound to be widespread sympathy for Bradford hotelier John Pennington's criticism of "ticket crazy" traffic wardens who he claims are driving business out of the city centre.

Most people, as individuals, have a problem with traffic wardens. They are authority figures who tend to pop up at the most inconvenient moment, when we have been delayed by a few minutes from returning to our car, and slap a ticket on it. Some of them are indeed over-zealous and the profession as a whole is never going to be wildly popular with the public.

It is true, too, that someone who has been given a fixed-penalty ticket during a visit to Bradford is likely to go away with an unhappy impression of the place and might be reluctant to return.

That said, though, traffic wardens do a vital job in ensuring that Bradford's streets are not obstructed by unsuitably parked vehicles. It is also important that they check that people do not stay longer than they should in the free, short-term parking spaces which are currently threatened by Council policy.

The T&A has launched the Save Our Spaces campaign, which has been backed by many others. We feel these free parking spots are necessary if shoppers are to be attracted to the city. But they need to be policed to ensure that they are not abused by people occupying the spaces for longer than they should.

On balance, perhaps, traffic wardens should be regarded as a necessary irritant. Life might be difficult with them, but it would be even more so without them.

Converted for the new archive on 30 June 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.