In the past, enforcement in the council's charging car park in the town's Guildford Square has been carried out by the car park attendant from Dunoon.

Island councillor Len Scoullar said: "This arrangement clearly had its drawbacks, as not only were his visits infrequent, but also when he was spotted on the ferry the bush telegraph warned drivers of his approach.

"This led to less turnover of parking spaces in this town centre site, and less income for the council.

"However, in order to improve enforcement and therefore compliance, the council environment wardens have now been trained and authorised to issue fixed penalties for non-payment of parking charges.

"This is a good example of the council making better use of staff through increased flexibility.

"Drivers should be warned that if they do not correctly pay and display, they will be at much greater risk of a large fine than they have been in the past."