Two Keighley businesses claim their customers and employees are being harassed by traffic wardens.

Managers at Autocraft Body Clinic and Great Northern Cars — both in Great Northern Road, off Coney Lane — say their trade is being jeopardised.

Great Northern Road is a cul-de-sac and there are no houses, schools or shops along its length. The road ends at the entrance to Nelson’s builders’ merchants.

The traders say the only people who use the road are those visiting their businesses and that enforcing parking restrictions there is “pointless”.

Stuart Brook, company secretary at Autocraft Body Clinic, said the firm had been at its current site since 1998.

He said at that time a yellow line did run along the kerb but it was worn away in many places, did not include signs and was not enforced. He said this changed about three or four months ago when council workers painted a new single yellow line on both sides of the street.

They also put up signs saying no one was allowed to park by the kerb between 8am and 6pm Monday to Saturday.

Mr Brook said none of his company’s customers or employees had been ticketed yet but said he understood this happened to a motorist stopping outside a different business last week.

He said a pair of wardens visited three or four times a week and threatened to penalise anyone parked along the kerb.

He said: “It’s making life difficult because we can’t leave customers’ cars along the pavement to be picked up or delivered. We’re having to shift the cars in and out of our premises very quickly “I can’t see why there have to be yellow lines down here — it’s pointless.”

Ian Smith, who owns the nearby Great Northern Cars, said his firm had the same problem. It has been based on the road since 1992.

Mr Smith said the parking restrictions had paradoxically made the road more dangerous. Now that it’s so clear there are cars speeding up and down it like lunatics,” he said.

“If one of our customers is backing out of our place we need to have someone stood in the middle of the street looking out for other cars — that’s how fast they drive.” He suggested a compromise solution would be to have a yellow line down just one side of the road.

Paul Ratcliffe, Bradford Council parking services manager, responded: “The yellow lines along Great Northern Road required maintenance and were recently renewed.

“We have also received complaints regarding parking on Great Northern Road and have reacted accordingly.”