MOTORISTS who park on yellow lines at Fareham will soon find themselves brought to book by parking attendants armed with new powers to issue tickets.

The council's 15-strong parking enforcement team will swing into action on April 2 and for the first time will operate under decriminalised parking regulations to monitor on street parking.

Executive member for planning and transportation, Councillor David Swanbrow, said: "The borough council has always been responsible for off street or car park enforcement.

"But these officers will now be able to issue tickets to drivers flouting regulations such as double yellow lines as well."

As well as patrolling the borough and issuing tickets to illegally parked cars, the parking attendants will act as an additional uniformed presence on the borough's streets.

They will also provide an extra element of help and security in the car parks.

Executive member for public protection Councillor Arthur Mandry said: "Ensuring we keep traffic moving is important to us all.

"Very often it is just one illegally parked car that will cause a traffic jam and this team will be responsible for issuing parking tickets to those who are flouting the regulations.

"For those who park legally this change will not affect us. It is the small minority though who park on yellow lines or places where they should not who will be affected."

He said that by enforcing traffic regulations they were demonstrating a commitment to road safety and to keeping traffic in the borough flowing smoothly.

He added: "Other authorities have introduced on street parking enforcement to good effect. I hope to see better traffic movement and more considerate parking as a result of this team's work."