DRIVERS who had been parked illegally in Weston had a nasty shock when they returned to their parking spots to discover their cars had disappeared.

DRIVERS who had been parked illegally in Weston had a nasty shock when they returned to their cars to discover they had disappeared.

A total of 17 cars were hauled off to an impound yard as part of a police action day.

Police community support officers from across the Weston sector visited the Palmer Street area and ticketed and towed away every illegally parked vehicle they found, much to the delight of residents.

Woolworths assistant manager Jane Kershaw was one of the drivers who saw her car being towed away in what the police called vigorous enforcement of parking regulations’.

She said: “I only learned about what was happening when one of the lads who works a nightshift came in and told me.

“I turned up in time to see my car being towed away. The tow truck drivers were quite apologetic and said they were only doing their job. I accept it was entirely my fault as I had gone to my car at lunchtime and it already had a parking ticket. I’ll be a lot more careful in the future.”

The 47-year-old had to fork out £30 for the parking fine and £105 to release her car.

Town centre police sergeant Peter Land said: “There is no set pattern to action days.

“Often we are reacting to the issues of people living and working in an area. If people say to us parking is a nightmare’ then we will react to that. The message is that while traffic wardens may have gone we are still dealing with parking issues in the town.”