ON reading your article 'Cheap Saturday parking is axed' (Wednesday, November 21), it made my blood boil!

I have found parking prices in Bolton horrendously expensive and really, is it any wonder that shoppers flock to the Trafford Centre and 'out of town' shopping centres for the free parking?

How can the Council calculate £50,000 pounds of 'lost revenue' and blame that purely on reduced parking charges, or the lack of visits from shoppers?

I am left wondering if the lost revenue is also a reflection on the amount of wages paid out to the many parking attendants that are hovering around Bolton car parks and always appear to be working in twofold -- is it one to hold the ticket while the other writes it out? I can honestly say I have not seen one parking attendant working on his/her own.

I park twice weekly on the Poole Street car park. A couple of months ago, I ran towards my car as I realised I had a few minutes left. There were two attendants near my car and one said laughingly "have you been to the bank too?"

I was puzzled and he then said that a lady had been given a ticket and she had been to the bank. He was laughing when he said "I told her she had better go back for some more then?" I said that I could not see the funny side to that and I was then told it was a "joke"?

I consider myself having a good sense of humour, but that was NOT funny! My next encounter was two weeks ago, parked in Le Mans Crescent and returning to my car with 10 minutes left on my ticket. I had a parking ticket. My husband ran up to the two attendants, who said we would have to go to the office on Chorley Street, as they could not do anything! On arriving there, my husband was asked if he had stuck the ticket upside down in the car window. Thankfully, the fine was removed.

The next day (Sunday), I was walking past Urges when I noticed a parking ticket being placed on a vehicle. The passenger in the back was disabled and sat in a wheelchair at the time and the driver had not appeared to have displayed a disabled badge. How callous to not use discretion and perhaps waiting for the driver's return might have been a more considerate option. I was appalled!

On Tuesday afternoon, I parked at Poole Street while I attended a meeting at a voluntary organisation. I was five minutes late and I received a parking ticket. I went to the Chorley Street office, paying in 30 pence to park to pay the fine! I said it was "ironic" as I was a volunteer and the meeting had gone on longer than I had anticipated. The response from the assistant was "It's enough to put you off working voluntary isn't it?" What sort of reply is that?

I honestly think that the whole parking situation, along with the parking attendants, needs reviewing! I also feel a course in customer service would not go amiss either.

I will not be using the Bolton Council car parks to go to my voluntary work in the future and feel it would be cheaper to use the bus, as the fare does not amount to the car park charge. I will certainly be travelling to the Trafford Centre for my Xmas shopping, where I can find hassle-free parking and 'shop till I drop' without the need to clock watch! And, yes, I would rather be in a motorway queue before paying the price in Bolton!

Maybe the Council should look at why there is a need for the attendants to work in two's when looking at lost revenue, instead of increasing parking fees!

S.M.Delvard-Hussain

Bolton