TRAFFIC wardens have been ordered to carry out patrols over an extra three hours a day to crack down on people parking on double yellow lines in Salisbury.

Instead of working from 8am to 6pm, some will start work at 7am and others will not finish until 8pm.

It is thought that their initial targets are people parking illegally outside takeaways and in residents’ parking zones.

One takeaway owner said: “This is just hitting us where we can least afford to be hit at the present time, and that’s in our tills.

“I’ve already had a 20 per cent drop in business because of the parking charges, and from what I hear that’s pretty much the case city-wide.

“And the trouble is that in residents’ zones there aren’t enough spaces for the permits issued.”

The clampdown has not been officially announced but is due to start next week, at the beginning of July, and to be extended throughout the county later.

On Tuesday, City Centre Management members will meet Cabinet members Dick Tonge and John Brady at The Pheasant at 10am to push for a cut in the parking charges.

A spokesman for Wiltshire Council said: “We are currently reviewing the terms and conditions of all the council’s civil enforcement officers to help deliver an improved service.

“The review is to ensure all the officers’ terms and conditions are harmonised across the county following the move to one council.”