TRADERS in Waterfoot fear a new disc parking scheme will drive shoppers out of town.

The new scheme means that motorists parking on Waterfoot's two short-stay car parks only have two hours before they have to quit the space.

Local hairdressers claim that customers are having to go out on to the streets in their rollers just to move their car to avoid being fined.

Rossendale Council decided to get tough on car park cheats in Waterfoot and Rawtenstall by starting enforcement action at its main off-street car parks.

The car parks are 'disc parking', where a driver has to set a disc to the time of their arrival and is then allowed two hours of free parking.

Abuse of the system has led the council to appoint attendants, who started patrolling the car parks in July.

But traders want to see the scheme altered to make it more customer friendly.

Christine Moffatt, owner of Headmasters, in Bacup Road, said: "The traffic wardens are even checking the valves on people's tyres to check if they have moved.

"It baffles me why Waterfoot was chosen for this scheme when Bacup, Stackteads, Haslingden and Ramsbottom do not have this.

"Half the shops in Waterfoot are closed -- we need to encourage visitors, not drive them away.

"I agree with it in principle, but if the short-stay car park was increased to three hours that would work much better."

Steve Taylor, owner of Steve's Greengrocers, in Bacup Road, added: "The car park is full of huge potholes, it's like the moon's surface.

"The council should be spending all the revenue generated from the fines on improving them and preventing them from being a danger area.

"I fully agree with Christine as another hour would not be to our detriment. If people are having their hair done, very often they come across the road to buy their fruit and veg afterwards, but they won't be able to do that if they have got to move their cars as soon as they come out of the hairdressers."

Rossendale Council leader Peter Steen said: "The disc parking in Waterfoot is being reviewed and views of traders will be taken into account. The council has set up a sub-committee to look into it."