EXTRA staff costing almost £44,000 are to be taken on to cope with the increased workload in West Devon's car parking service.

In a report presented to the borough's development committee last week it was recommended two extra people should be appointed and fines and parking charges increased.

The lengthy report revealed increases in tickets sold, fines and appeals over the last two years.

Charges for Chagford and Hatherleigh car parks are to be introduced and changes in enforcement procedures for Tavistock's Guildhall car park and Simmons car park in Okehampton.

Cllr Dick Eberlie said: 'I am nervous at the number of appeals and the small number of fines waived — it worries me that so many people are prepared to appeal and to see how few we believe to be justified. It's a terribly sensitive area.'

Cllr Eberlie said on two occasions in other towns he had received a parking fine and unsuccessfully appealed — he had never returned to the area again.

He suggested giving people 'ten minutes' grace' at the end of parking time and asked why the system needed auditing.

Cllr David Stapleton said: 'I would like West Devon to be known as a fair authority — we should have a review of the enforcement procedures.'

Cllr Robin Pike suggested a barrier system for car parks might be an alternative way to regulate tickets, while Cllr Nicholas Waterhouse questioned the increase in fines and appeals and decrease in the number of fines waived.

And Cllr Dennis Bater said motorists would avoid the council's car parks in Hatherleigh 'like the plague' once charges were introduced in April. The borough estimates these will boost its income by £11,000 per year.

'I can't agree with those figures,' said Cllr Bater, who thought drivers would use the free spaces around the town.

Mark Hall, the borough council's head of commercial services, said until 1998 the department had been 'very lax'.

'I think there was a general ethos where you actually knew you were going to get away with it,' he said.

'I think it's a gradual education process — once you have had one ticket it's unlikely you will have another one. People have gradually got used to the way it operates now.'

He stressed the importance of having the service audited properly.

'From our point of view we cannot have even a hint that the rules could be bent — it's something we need to protect our staff and it's to protect yourselves,' he told councillors.

He said pay and display machines were generally used in the borough's car parks because it was the most simple and cost effective system.

Mr Hall said giving people ten minutes leeway when they had overstayed their ticket time was fraught with problems.

'It's difficult — we'd have people complaining about being 12 minutes over — at some stage you have to draw a line,' he said.

Mr Hall said estimated income from Hatherleigh car park charges was based on science — his department did not have the necessary resources to use any other method.

He said car parking was 'a bit of a Cinderella service' which swallowed up money, but he said the service could not be improved until he had more staff.

Councillors agreed with Mr Hall's recommendations, but insisted procedures surrounding enforcement should be subject to review.