TRAILERS parked on double yellow lines for two years have escaped fines from the council because they "have no engines".

Several large vehicles are parked in Mill Hill Street, Tonge, on restricted areas of the road, but Bolton Council told a resident who complained that it cannot issue penalty notices because they are not drivable.

The resident, who works in the area and wishes hot to be named, claims that the wagons have been parked there for more than two years.

He said: "It seems like one rule for one, and another rule for everyone else.

"Those yellow lines are there for a reason, and the council should fine the people who park them there, just as I would get fined if I parked there.

"They look like circus wagons to me. I have spoken to the council about it and have made a complaint, but they say they won't touch them because they have no engines. It's a joke."

Henry Hill, owner of North West Fun Fairs, said the offending vehicles do not belong to him.

He said: "The trailers are not ours. We are a council-abiding funfair operator who works alongside the council – we are not here to defy them and are certainly not exempt from parking tickets.

"I am very surprised that they have not been moved though."

The council says it would refer details of complaints about vehicles to the police — but Insp Wayne Readfern from GMP Bolton North said parking on yellow lines is no longer a criminal offence unless the vehicles are causing a severe obstruction.

He said: "The police do not deal with parking on double yellow lines — unless the vehicle was obstructing a fire engine driving down the road, for example.

"This problem has been going on for many years. In the past some people have moved the vehicles if we ask, but the majority of cases we are unable to take action."

Cllr Nick Peel, Bolton Council's executive member and Labour councillor for Tonge with The Haulgh, said: "It is true that because they are not working vehicles we can't move them. It's an anomaly in the law.

"I am happy to pursue it with the highways as it seems ridiculous to me that this can happen."

A spokesman for Bolton Council said: "We can understand the resident's frustration but we follow national legislation with parking enforcement, and one of the criteria for being able to fine a vehicle is that it must have an engine.

"In the case of Mill St, the trailers don't have engines, which is why we can't issue fines. However, when we receive complaints, we do send the details on to the police."

"Mill Hill Street is a really congested area and I would welcome more yellow lines if it would make it easier for vehicles such as ambulances to manoeuvre."