BOLTON town centre has not been the same since September 4 this year when the enforcement of parking restrictions passed from the police to the council.

The local authority awarded the contract for carrying out the service to Apcoa, which already ran a number of car parks in the borough.

The police never had the resources to enforce the laws properly but under the new set-up a team of 28 people are now dedicated to keeping the highways clear of illegally-parked vehicles.

The attendants work shifts from either 8am to 5.30pm, or 9.30am to 7pm. The day begins with a briefing at their base in Bolton town centre. Each member of staff is told which areas they will be patrolling that day and any problems are discussed.

It is then on to the streets to make sure motorists are parking where they should be.

I joined two attendants, Mark and Derek, who have been working for Apcoa since September.

It was a grim, grey Monday morning, with the town sprayed in drizzle, not the sort of weather you would want to be walking about in all day. But the two men insisted they still enjoy their new jobs.

Mark, 44, a qualified engineer by trade and who has worked as a security guard and a gas showroom manager, said it is one of the better jobs he has had.

"It is a nice town centre to walk around and you are in the fresh air all day. It is very interesting and very varied, which I didn't really expect. Every day is different," Mark said.

But what about the hassle you get from some members of the public?

"Most people you can have a laugh with. We have a good relationship with about 75 per cent of the public. Funnily enough, it seems to be people without cars, especially teenagers, who shout 'get a proper job' or 'watch out, the Gestapo are coming'."

Mark has been one of the lucky parking attendants. In just over three months, his colleagues have collected a dossier of incidents where staff have been verbally abused and physically attacked.

Here is a brief summary from the log book:

December 2, Market Street, Westhoughton -- Man stopped an attendant and told him he was ruining his business. Would not move out of the way and punched the attendant on the arm.

November 30, Deane Road, Bolton -- A man pushes an employee in the back and tells him he will "kick his head in" and kill him. He then stabs him in the chest with a mobile phone. Police are called but no action is taken.

November 23, Bolton Market car park -- Woman threatens a warden telling him "I will smash your face in".

November 22, Silverwell Lane, Bolton -- Attendant is worried he will be knocked down when a man drives up at speed behind him.

No date or location

on log --An attendant is head-butted and sworn at. He is pushed again.

November 7, Victoria Road, Bolton -- Woman drops off children on School Keep Clear area. She screams and swears at parking attendant.

Despite this catalogue of abuse, Mark and Derek say they never fear for their safety and point out they have their walkie-talkies at hand if the situation does get too heated.

Also, the 15-week training and probation procedure the attendants must take part in before they are made full-time employees emphasises the ability to be able to defuse volatile situations.

Mark and Derek highlight other qualities you need as common sense, accuracy and good fitness levels. As a parking attendant you can be pounding the streets for eight hours a day and can cover up to 15 miles during the shift.

Both men agreed that that the worst part of the job is having to give a ticket to people who are only a few minutes late.

Motorists are given five minutes grace when they park -- so they can get some change -- and after their deadline -- in case they have been held up -- but any longer than that the penalty is issued.

Mark said: "Once there was a car which had been parked for nearly an hour longer than it should have been. As I was making out the ticket a man came over.

"He had been to the dentist's and they found a complication, so they had him in the chair for an hour.

"He came over with his mouth out here. He'd obviously had a bad enough day as it was and I was issuing him with a ticket. We are only human and I felt really bad."

Walking around with Mark and Derek you begin to see how the town can benefit from the new service.

As they walk down Le Mans Crescent, a car illegally parked in the taxi rank moves out as they approach. Hackney cab companies pay a lot to use the rank and are furious when other motorists park there.

You see many other people running out of offices and shops to move their cars into areas where they can park legally.

The attendants also provide an accessible person members of the public can speak to about parking. On a couple of occasions people approach them. One woman who had had some money taken mistakenly by the car park machine was told where she could go to get reimbursed.

Both Mark and Derek are very likeable and insist they are not ruthless when issuing tickets. Mark said: "Many people do get a fair deal but they are never the ones who phone up the BEN."

Back at base at Caroline House, contract manager George To says he is happy with the way things have been going since September.

"It has been a learning curve for everybody here and we have learned an awful lot. People are thinking twice about parking illegally and are using the car parks instead, which is the ultimate aim."