MOTORISTS in Stanford-le-Hope have been hit with parking fines after parking bays were suspended outside a Tesco Express with little warning.

Five bays outside the convenience store in King Street are out of bounds until the end of today (Thursday, 31 August) according to a parking suspension sign covered with a laminated piece of paper announcing the suspensions. The sign fails to mention which of the bays are suspended. It also looks so unofficial motorists are failing to spot it, while enforcement officers are said to be lurking out of sight waiting to pounce.

The closures were put in force on Tuesday.

One resident who asked not to be named, said: "My partner got caught. The sign wasn't clear when she parked and there were no cones showing you couldn't park there. They just let you and waited till you left to stick a ticket on it. Ridiculous really.

"It doesn't specifically say exactly where the bays are. Which we have appealed against."

A warning posted on the SS17 Community Stanford &Corringham Facebook page, said: "Please beware parking outside of Tesco in King Street today.

"Parking has been suspended and it's marked with a paltry photocopy of a sign.

"The dirty so and so's are not giving any indication or warning to people but are actually lurking in the shadows and are pouncing on cars and slapping parking tickets on them the minute they go through Tesco doors.

"This is outrageous behaviour. Thurrock Council shame on you."

It is not the first time Thurrock Council has come under fire for inappropriate parking suspensions at the same place.

Neil Speight, independent councillor for Stanford-le-Hope West, said: "This is an example of the council's disingenuous attitude to the residents it is supposed to serve.

"This happened once before, when the planned work was eventually cancelled. The council reimbursed residents or cancelled the notices. But it has learned nothing.

"Sticking a bit of paper on a sign is neither an efficient, nor reasonable way to go about the council's businesses."

Mr Speight added: "I have contacted officers and I hope a sense of responsibility and reason prevails.

"It would have been easy to put up some bollards overnight to avoid any confusion.

"But easy seems to be the hardest word."

Thurrock Council has not responded to a request for a comment from the BBC Local Democracy Reporting Service.