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It may be a day of rest for some but traffic wardens in one market town have been accused of working a bit too hard on booking church-goers on a Sunday morning.

Church leaders have criticised what they claim was a deliberate targeting of vehicles parked outside places of worship across Carmarthen.

The situation has been described as ‘persecution’ of worshippers by the Area Dean of the town.

Members of congregations at several chapels and churches in the town returned to their cars after prayers to find tickets stuck to their windscreens.

'It's a tax on religion'

County councillor Alun Lenny, who is also a chapel leader, told the Carmarthen Journal: “It’s very mean indeed that people’s cars seem to have been targeted by wardens during the hour in which they were in church or chapel.

“The fact that this happened at both ends of town in Priory Street and Lammas Street, suggests it was a deliberate strategy.

“Carmarthen is a market town, not a city, and goodwill has always been shown on a Sunday morning by a little relaxation of parking restrictions, as long as no undue obstruction is caused, of course.

“As county councillors for this town, we were unanimous in our opposition to charges for Sunday parking.

“We felt it was a tax on religion, as well as doing damage to Sunday trade.

“The least the council could have done was issue a warning on the first occasion due to the special circumstances of Sunday morning parking.”

The council has since said it will waived the tickets, and put it down to an error by wardens who should have just issued initial warnings, but it has warned tickets will be issued seven days a week in the near future.

'Worshippers are being targeted'

The Reverend Leigh Richardson at St Peter’s Church and who is Area Dean of Carmarthen, said most churchgoers park at the nearby St Peter’s car park, and that talks to reach a compromise with the council meant service times had been changed.

The service on a Sunday now finishes before noon when parking charges at St Peter’s come into force.

“I thought the Sunday parking situation reached a compromise, with the delay in charging in the car parks until midday, but it’s not a satisfactory compromise, especially when it appears that worshipers are being targeted, elderly mostly too, while they were at prayers.

“It is almost persecution.”

Sunday parking charges in the county’s car parks, where they were previously free, came into effect last August and more stringent enforcement across the town’s streets is underway.

County road safety and traffic manager John McEvoy said: “We apologise to these motorists, the parking tickets were issued in error and will be waived.

“Enforcement officers will be issuing warning notices throughout April to counter inconsiderate parking on pavements, double yellow lines and alongside dropped kerbs.

“Enforcement from May will be carried out seven days a week.”

A council spokesman insisted no fines would have actually been paid because clerks would have noticed they were issued on a Sunday.

Wales News Service