A DISABLED man claims Bolton's over-zealous traffic wardens have stopped him shopping in the town after he was served with a ticket.

Ray Coe, who suffers from a heart condition, has vowed he will not shop in the town centre again -- and says others are also going to be put off unless our meter maids and men stop being so ticket happy.

His brush with the town's parking "police" came about after he said they stuck a £20 fine on his parked car -- despite it having an orange disabled badge displayed.

When he confronted traffic warden bosses, they claimed his orange badge was facing the wrong way so that his name and details were not showing -- making him illegally parked on a yellow line.

They even claimed to have taken a photo of his improperly fixed orange badge but, when challenged by Mr Coe, failed to produce it.

Mr Coe said: "It's disgraceful. I can't believe they have slapped a ticket on me. I have not done anything wrong at all. And if they say they have a photo of my badge the wrong way around, I'd like to see it because I've seen nothing yet."

The businessman, aged 68, from Blackburn, had parked on a single yellow line in Nelson Square while he went for lunch with his partner in a nearby pub.

But when he returned to his car he could not believe the parking ticket had been left on his windscreen.

And it comes after several similar problems with the new traffic wardens -- as reported in the BEN.

Since Bolton Council took over the duty of administering on-street car parking fines, scores of people have complained that the wardens are being too vigorous in their work.

It has even led to a petition by traders and businessmen in the Shifnall Street area near the town centre who claim they will be driven out after customers and deliverymen have been slapped with fines for waiting just a few minutes in no-parking areas.

Mr Coe ran a personal finance company until he had heart by-pass surgery in the summer.

He said: "This is going to put me and my partner off shopping in Bolton. She always comes here to shop, it's a great shopping centre. It's just a pity they can't get the balance right in the parking stakes."

He is now refusing to pay the fine and has written several letters to the body which runs the traffic wardens for Bolton Council.

A council spokesman said Mr Coe's complaints were being investigated.