FRUSTRATED delivery drivers in Manchester sick of having parking tickets slapped on them need worry no more - thanks to a new hi-tech device.

Traffic wardens will be able to contact drivers causing an obstruction through a special buzzer on their van windscreens.

It means parking attendants will now be able to locate drivers parked on yellow lines quickly and tell them to move on, rather than immediately issue them with a ticket.

The scheme is the first of its kind in the UK and a significant move away from the city council's previous policy of ticketing drivers within minutes.

Town hall chiefs believe the new system, currently being tested by seven major firms including Tesco and Parcel Force, will also help reduce congestion without penalising companies.

The device, called Moovit, links an electronic transmitter button on the passenger window of the vehicle to a radio receiver carried by the driver.

When a warden approaches the unattended vehicle, they can press the button to tell the driver to move it. The system is the brainchild of Edinburgh-based entrepreneurs Allan Fowlie and Moray McAndrew, who have already won a Scottish Entrepreneur Innovation award for the design.

They decided to pilot it in Manchester on the recommendation of the RAC, following the city's attempts to improve parking issues.

If it is successful, dozens of other companies are expected to join the system.

james.ducker@men-news.co.uk

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