FIND us some more parking spaces and we will join the free-for-all to bag one, Fordington residents told a traffic management officer.

Their call for more parking followed the abandonment last year of a proposal for a residents' parking scheme because of a 'no' vote from those consulted - the second in 18 months.

But pressure on parking spaces means people cannot park near their own homes, have to move their cars at inconvenient hours and collect parking tickets for parking where they should not.

Their catalogue of woe was spelled out to Tony Mackle, traffic and safety manager with Dorset County Council, when he attended Dorchester Town Council's planning and environment committee.

Mr Mackle said he was looking to find more night-time spaces in Fordington and had identified ways to yield 23 car spaces.

He said: "I'm looking to see if I can squeeze in extra parking bays. There's obviously a real need for extra parking in the evenings.

"There is the potential for 23 extra places."

He identified 13 sites where alterations such as changing restrictions and marking out new bays could help. And he pinpointed a narrow area in Icen Way where a ban would move parked cars out of a dangerous area to improve access along the road.

Colette Papazien told Mr Mackle that people who can't park near their homes would welcome the freeing up of more spaces in the evenings - even at the risk of non-residents taking them.

She said: "People come and park in Fordington anyway - it's a free-for-all. It would open it up for local residents - we could join in the free-for-all then."

She suggested making town car parks free at night so people coming into town would go to the empty car parks instead of trying to save 50p and park in Fordington.

Coun Molly Rennie urged residents to write to West Dorset District Council, which manages the car parks, to ask for parking season tickets that would enable them to park overnight and at weekends in Durngate Street car park at a discounted rate for Fordington residents.

She said: "Do it individually - don't start getting up petitions."

She said the district council was in consultation on parking in Dorchester and residents should forward their views.

Phyllis Gray said she was concerned about parking on Fordington Green.

She said: "Cars are parking on the green and it looks awful. It's a shame to ruin that green. It's a result of lack of parking spaces."

Gabrielle Phillips, who is disabled, told town councillors and Mr Mackle that she found it hard to park near her Salisbury Field home.

She said: "I could not find one parking space in the whole area on Saturday night and on Sunday morning I had a parking ticket."

Mr Mackle said proposals were still at a discussion stage and formal consultation and public advertisement would follow when plans were finalised.