A TRAFFIC warden has been criticised after he was pictured parking on double yellow lines near Wrexham.

The Wrexham Council enforcement officer was photographed while out ticketing cars in Cefn Mawr.

The image of his van, which bares the local authority’s logo, parked in a restricted location was captured by a garage worker who had gone to the village to buy some lunch.

The council has defended the employee and said he was exempt from restrictions because of the lack of spaces in the area.

However, the person who took the picture said he felt the warden’s actions were ‘ironic’.

The photograph has been shared by around 200 people after it was posted on Facebook by a worker at Turner Automotive in Acrefair.

The man, who did not wish to be named, said: “The car parks were overloaded and they have been for many years, but the council hasn’t done anything about it.

“What they have done now is to send out the traffic warden, which isn’t really a cure to the problem.

“Today he rocked up on the double yellows, stating to everybody that there was another car park down the road that they could use and there was no need to be on double yellows.

“He said that if they remained there they could be fined and that’s when the camera came out because of the complete irony of it.”

In response the council said while officers are generally expected to obey parking rules, there is an exemption if they are unable to park elsewhere.

A spokesman has also asked social media users not to make personal remarks about the warden.

He said: “When carrying out enforcement duties, officers are expected to park in accordance with restrictions, where possible.

“However, as enforcement is a statutory duty, officers are exempt from their restrictions if they can only park on a restricted area.

“While we appreciate a parking space is visible within the photo taken, we are assured the space was occupied when the officer arrived.

“We also note that this issue has attracted a lot of notice and commentary on social media, and would ask – while people are perfectly entitled to voice their views or make comments – that they please don’t make personal comments about the officer involved.”