Police issued 12 parking tickets in Selkirk last week in their first surprise crackdown in Borders towns.
Local cops are now swooping on illegal parking on single and double-yellow lines after Police Scotland withdrew traffic wardens in cost-saving cuts.
“It will not be tolerated,” community PC Steve Sullivan warned the public at Selkirk’s Community Council meeting on Monday. “Just because we no longer have traffic wardens, it will not stop.”
He added that more “spontaneous” checks will follow, when police simply turn up in towns to “no set pattern”.
Councillor Gordon Edgar, Scottish Borders Council’s executive member for roads and infrastructure, feared a lack of traffic wardens was leading to “chaos on Selkirk High Street”. He said: “Buses cannot get past and I would hate to see what would happen if a fire engine needed to get past. People are parking on both sides of the road and it is causing a great deal of concern.”
PC Sullivan added a further warning to disabled blue badge holders: “Just because you are a blue badge holder, you cannot park wherever you like, however long you like. You will not be exempt if your parking’s judged to be dangerous.”