Sir,

I work in Tenby, and some nights I have to work up to 10 o'clock. As I start work at 9.30 am, the bus service is of no help to me, nor at 10 pm.

I have to admit that since the season has started, I no longer feel safe on Tenby's streets in the evenings. I have to leave work and walk to my car, through stag nights, groups of youths, men in groups, and although I am not normally the nervous type, it can be very unsettling and nerve-wracking, so I try to find somewhere to park within a reasonable safe walking distance (I am sure there are many other women out there who try to do the same and also feel uncomfortable walking to vehicles at night).

I did think about parking in the multi-storey car park, but I wouldn't feel safe going up the stairs in there at night either. So there's a problem.

Every day, I get into Tenby by 8.50 or 9 am and drive around for a good 40 minutes or so, just getting stressed out looking for a parking space that doesn't exist, and trying to squeeze my car into tiny spaces in desperation. A couple of times I have been unable to find any spaces at all that aren't residential, disabled or on single or double yellow lines. I have tried on both these occasions to park as safely as possible, but being late for work in the process, I have had to park there. Once on a double yellow line and once on a single yellow line.

On the first occasion, just two weeks ago, I came out of work at 10 pm after a very hard and tiring day. I got to my car to find I had been given a parking ticket. The car in front of me was not booked, even though it was on double yellow lines also. I went to the police station almost in tears, as that was my day's wage down the drain.

The second incident was two nights ago. I walked to my car in Sutton Street. I had been booked yet again, by the same traffic warden, for being within 10m of the junction on a single yellow line. What really got me, though, was the car behind me, that was jutting out from the junction and the two cars in the same position on the other side of the road (that had been there when I arrived that morning), had not been booked. Somehow that doesn't seem right.

I had stuck a note in my windscreen saying where I was working, in case anyone needed me to remove my car, and the ticket was placed on the windscreen over the note. This was a wonderful end to a 12-hour working day where yet again I could wave my wage goodbye.

The following day, I saw a policeman and a traffic warden stood together and went and asked them where in Tenby I could park, that was safe. The only suggestion they could come up with was to pay to reserve a space in the multi-storey car park. This kind of defeats the object, because I don't feel safe going in the multi-storey at night, and why should any of the workforce of Tenby have to pay for reserved spaces just to be able to earn a living. I am on Family Credit, I cannot afford reserved spaces and I cannot afford to throw my wage away constantly because Pembrokeshire Council, Tenby Council and the like cannot sort out the ridiculous mess of parking in Tenby.

When are they going to stop pandering to the holidaymakers constantly and realise that we are their bread and butter throughout the year. They don't supply enough parking facilities for the residents or the workforce, but encourage the holidaymakers to swamp the town with stag and hen nights. Is our safety considered at all?

I am having to park so far from work now, trying to find a legal spot, but no longer am I safe. If I was to be assaulted, I would feel that it is the responsibility of our councils.

I have to pay £60 now for my parking tickets. It's £60 that I haven't got. If I could afford to fight it through the courts, I would.

Come on Tenby, do something for us for a change, we're the ones who love you and live with you through the year.

Mrs. Joy Mardon,

2 Hounsell Avenue,