GERRY Bolland is man on a mission, quite clearly. As the parking services manager for Bournemouth council, he probably has one of the most unpopular roles in the town.

If leave your motor on a double yellow line or overstay your welcome in a municipal car park, it will be a member of his team who will be nicking you.

As from the end of March, new national regulations will give traffic wardens - or civil enforcement officers as they will be known, more powers to sort out motorists who transgress.

Mr Bolland is pleased about this and says it's long overdue.

He warns that wardens may record conversations, that more and more camera enforcement is likely be used and Automatic Number Plate Recognition technology could be the answer to problems outside schools.

Given that we've been running our own Parking Mad' campaign to highlight the actions of irresponsible parents, the ANPR suggestion would be welcome, though a few on the spot fines dished out out on a regular basis would soon sort things out.

On one level you can't argue with the fact that if you break the rules, you should expect to pay for the privilege.

However, the hard pressed motorist already views parking enforcement less as an issue of management and more as a cash cow to be milked for all it's worth by local authorities.

So Mr Bolland should instruct his team to use their new powers with tact and discretion, which I have no doubt they will do. And the parking supremo himself, as much as he might love it, ought to try not to sound too enthusiastic about his job.