HUNDREDS of motorists were stung by parking tickets last week in the new blitz by Lancashire's traffic wardens.

Figures revealed that 662 tickets were issued from Monday of last week by 90 county council-employed wardens, who have taken over enforcement of traffic regulations from the police -- despite a "gentle introduction".

Of the 662 tickets issued, more than half were handed out in East Lancashire.

Hundreds more motorists were given warnings under the ParkWise project that their parking was breaking the law, or given reminders not to stop on double yellow lines.

It is estimated that 150,000 tickets will be issued over 12 months. Pendle was the only area to issue no penalties in the week.

Last year around 30,000 parking tickets were issued across Lancashire. The figure, which includes Blackburn with Darwen, works out at just under 580 per week.

A spokesperson for Lancashire County Council said: "The opening period was mainly one of warnings as a gentle introduction, but there were still 662 tickets issued. The first day of normal operation was Monday of last week when 187 penalty charge notices were issued. It is early days yet, of course."

In Burnley 104 tickets were issued, in Hyndburn 57, in Rossendale 75, and in Chorley 104.

Lancashire County Council bosses are set to receive between £4.5million and £13.5million in fines over a year, depending on how quickly people pay.

The new service, managed by the county council using staff from parking firm NCP, is running in 12 districts, including Burnley, Pendle, Rossendale, Hyndburn and Chorley. Ribble Valley Council has employed its own NCP-trained wardens as part of the same scheme.

Pendle is the only area in Lancashire to run a second week of warning notices, rather than straight parking tickets this week.

Colin Badminton, Pendle Council's highways and transport manager, said: "We are simply enforcing current bylaws. ParkWise is a road safety initiative, it is not about raising revenue."