Honiton traders are up in arms. Work started late at night.

TRADERS in Honiton are up in arms after Devon County Council painted double yellow lines on a section of High Street late at night.

Terry Farebrother, who owns Liquid Assets, was surprised the council, which faces making massive cuts to services to save money, can afford to employ workmen at 11pm.

“We are supposed to be cutting back, but I bet those workmen were on double time,” he told The Midweek Herald.

“I can’t believe how lucky the council was, because, normally, residents’ cars are parked in those spaces.”

Mr Farebrother added: “The council is taking away spaces at a time when it is planning to charge for parking in the spaces we’ve got left.”

Guy Atkin, of Forsyth, in High Street, said he was concerned about the length of the yellow lines.

“I reckon you could get a London bus and a couple of cars in there.

“It looks like they have taken more than two spaces.

“And why are they doing this at night?”

The yellow lines were painted overnight last Wednesday.

A Devon County Council spokesman said: “The work was carried out at night in order to minimise disruption in the High Street and to ensure the safety of the workforce.

“The two parking spaces have been removed because vehicles parking in these spaces have obstructed the flow of traffic in this section of the High Street, causing congestion close to a very busy junction.

“This part of town is well-served by on-street parking, as the opposite side of the road has 127 metres of parking space.”