A TRAFFIC warden could soon be the envy of colleagues across the UK.

While the kit issued to Britain's wardens does not run to a pair of shoes, Middlesbrough Borough Council are set to supply their planned first ever lone ranger of the kerbsides with a motor scooter.

Councillor Ken Hall, the council's Commissioner for the Environment, said: "We are looking at various options like equipping a warden with a 100cc scooter."

Lengthy Linthorpe Road, its bus lane clogged by parked cars, takes 40 minutes to cover on foot.

Coun Hall said: "I have asked officers to look at using a gas powered scooter so a traffic warden type person could get up and down Linthorpe Road putting fixed parking tickets on vehicles.

"It could be innovative; I have not heard of this anywhere else in the country.''

Councillors at Middlesbrough council are to introduce bus priority traffic lights on Acklam and Marton Road, which will respond to electronic "readers" onboard buses, which might otherwise be hemmed in by peak hour traffic.

Council officials recommended the introduction of dedicated bus lanes on both roads, but this idea was dropped at a meeting of councillors for "the forseeable future".

About 2,500 vehicles use Acklam Road at its morning and afternoon peaks while the figure for Marton Road is 2,000.

There have been 197 accidents in Marton Road during the past five years and 62 on Acklam Road in the past three.

While the bus lanes will not go ahead, new traffic signals will be installed, along with pelican crossings and refuges, cycle lanes and 30 mph limits on stretches of road.

Coun Hall said: "We remain totally committed to encouraging greater use of public transport and increasing road safety."