CAR parking charges have always been an emotive subject. This photo was taken in 1980 to illustrate a story that Blackburn was to put up its prices for parking in the town.

The new charges had been added to the sign at the entrance to the shopping centre car park with motorists having to pay 15p for a hour’s parking.

The sliding scale of charges rose to 80p if you stayed for more than five hours which upset many people who worked in the town centre and would naturally incur this cost on a daily basis.

This was before pay and display came in - you would have to pay the attendant at the barrier when you left the car park.