DRIVERS are being warned not to outstay their welcome by ignoring parking rules in a town centre.

Police officers and town councillors in Northallerton are launching a crackdown on people parking for too long in the High Street.

The town operates a free disc system, where drivers can park for a maximum of two hours, but police say many people are parking for hours on end, and stopping in disabled spaces, loading bays and taxi ranks.

From next Tuesday, police are organising an enforcement campaign to catch drivers flouting the rules.

For the first week, drivers staying too long will be given a warning notice. After that, they will be issued with £30 fines.

The traffic warden covering the Hambleton district will be spending a greater percentage of his time in Northallerton.

At the same time, the parking discs are being made available in more shops in the High Street.

Double yellow lines, taxi ranks and disabled spaces have also been repainted to make them clearer.

Community safety officer Sergeant Matt France said: "We want to try to stop some of the people who put discs in the cars and then come back after two hours and change the time on the clock to give themselves a few extra hours.

"We want to support the local community and make sure there is a regular turnover of spaces for visitors to the town and shoppers.

"The main priority is to ensure that there is a free flow of traffic on the streets round Northallerton.

When people park in taxi ranks or loading bays specifically designed for lorries, it displaces traffic on to the roads.

"Northallerton is one of very few areas to have free on-street parking and we will be encouraging people to respect the two hour limit and free up parking spaces."

Town mayor David Blades said many visitors to Northallerton were surprised that they could park for free in the High Street, but the number of people ignoring the parking rules had got worse.

"We have had a lot of complaints that people are abusing the system by parking in the taxi ranks and the disabled spaces," he said.

"It seems to have taken over the town."