Staff at a village primary school have started off the new term with a parking row.

Staff at Wycliffe School were stunned last week when they went back to their cars parked on land next to the school only to find Bradford Council had slapped warning notices on their windscreens.

“We’ve been parking on that land for 30 years with no trouble until now,” said learning mentor Dot Martin.

The notices said to expect fines if they parked there again.

“We were shocked and puzzled. Only in January we got permission from the Council to put up a new school parking notice saying it was just for our use and for visitors,” said Mrs Martin.

“We couldn’t work out why there was all this fuss now so we rang the Council,” she said.

“We were told the land had now been sold and we’d have to park our cars up near Shipley Town Hall which is quite a hike away especially with all the books, boxes and files we have to haul about every day.”

After a follow-up call to the Council, the teachers were told the land had been sold three years ago to the owner of Northcliffe Garage.

“That means the Council had sold the land three years ago and didn’t have the courtesy to tell us and were still happy to let us use it as our school car park. "Surely if it’s not their land they had no right to give us warning notices in the first place so it’s illegal what they did.”

Staff from Wycliffe have now been in contact with Northcliffe Garage but been told the owner is away. A spokesman at the garage declined to comment.

Mrs Martin said: “It’s a no-win situation for us. If the owner decides to develop it or use it just for his staff we can’t park there and if we do park there Bradford Council will give us parking tickets.”

A Council spokesman said: “Our civil enforcement officers issued the notices because they thought the parking was illegal. They have since discovered the land was in fact privately owned and have apologised. There will be no further action.”