Free cars for 'best' traffic wardens

Motorists face a parking ticket blitz after a free car and widescreen TVs were offered to attendants who issue more penalties.

The "Champions League" bonus scheme has been attacked by motoring organisations who said it "beggared belief ".

Car park operator NCP offered the prizes to its attendants after signing a new contract to patrol the streets of Westminster.

The bizarre bonus scheme has been launched amid fears that congestion charging will force down the number of tickets being issued and severely hit revenue.

Attendants have been told the top prize is a new gas-powered Vauxhall car and second prize is up to £1,500 of holiday vouchers.

Third prize is a 28- inch widescreen TV, worth £1,000. Attendants who issue more than 15 parking tickets a day will get a monthly bonus of up to £50 - approximately double what they were paid under a previous bonus scheme. Under the new system attendants who catch even more motorists can improve their monthly earnings on a sliding scale, aiming for bonuses of £75 or even £100 by issuing more tickets. Attendants who issue more than three Penalty Charge Notices per hour will be rewarded with monthly bonuses of more than £200 on top of a salary of about £16,000, it was claimed today.

One attendant told the Standard: "The bonuses were guaranteed to send the number of dodgy tickets issued to motorists soaring - and that is what has happened.

"Some of us have not gone along with it because it is wrong but others don't care and are going all-out to get the bonuses even if it means issuing false tickets to innocent motorists."

Within days of the new scheme being announced last month attendants say the number of bogus tickets issued soared. In a scramble to meet targets, it is claimed unscrupulous attendants issued tickets for non-existent offences - disposing of the portion intended to be stuck on the car.

Attendants who contacted the Standard said tickets were frequently issued just before time on a parking meter expired.

One attendant issued tickets to motorists parked on Red Routes - even though council attendants have jurisdiction only over yellow lines.

"When new bonuses were announced there was a 'Champions League' table on the noticeboard," said one attendant. "After this some attendants stopped taking tea or lunch breaks; all they care about is hitting their target number of tickets and they don't care how they do it," said the attendant.

Today Kevin Delaney of the RAC Foundation said: "It beggars belief.

This goes further than an incentive scheme - it borders on inciting attendants to issue tickets that are not due."

Carl Powell, director of Planning & Transportation at Westminster City Council, said today: "NCP, aware of the problems of recruiting and retaining good staff, have introduced an incentive scheme for its staff to reward and recognise those PAs (parking attendants) who consistently perform well."

Westminster signed a five-year deal with NCP to run its parking service - the largest in Europe - in January.

A spokesman for NCP said: "It's part of a retraining package: it is to encourage them to do a good job."

He added that if the scheme was a success it would be rolled out nationwide.