A Temple Street car park user says permit-holders there should get an extra month for free - after observing other motorists have been overstaying the two-hour limit.

David Ambrose (pictured), who lives in the road, said that residents have not seen an East Devon District Council (EDDC) enforcement officer since the start of roadworks in Temple Street in January.

The retired police officer said his surveillance training kicked in when he noticed cars were parking in the facility - where vehicles can stop-off for free for two hours - for days without receiving a ticket. Drivers staying more than the two hour limit are in danger of being fined £50, reduced to £25 if paid within 14 days.

Mr Ambrose said it was not right for the 11 residents that pay ‘more than £270- a-year’ to EDDC to reserve a space.

He added: “I have seen it for myself. People park there all day, every day and they do not get a ticket.

“Since EDDC is not interested in collecting money from issuing penalty notices, does this mean it will either refund or allow those 11 residents who pay a yearly fee for parking an extension of one month?”

Mr Ambrose is also calling for double yellows lines to be reinstated outside the car park’s entrance, which is privately owned, to prevent vehicles from being left there. He described the issue as ‘an accident waiting to happen.’

Mr Ambrose, who moved to Temple Street in 1999, said that people had abided by the lines when they were in place, adding: “This restricts the access and when a vehicle is attempting to enter it is confronted by a vehicle coming out and has to reverse into the main road.

“They have got to do something about it. What if someone reverses and backs into a lorry, pedestrian or car? It is quite difficult watching it sometimes. This is an accident waiting to happen.”

An EDDC spokeswoman said there are no plans to extend the validity of existing permits, adding: “We anticipated that demand for parking at Temple Street car park would be much lower during the road closure imposed by the highways authority, so we haven’t been prioritising patrols there while works have been carried out. We also felt that enforcement would potentially be ‘unreasonable’ because we could see that access and egress was being disrupted and, at times prevented, by the works.”

The spokeswoman added that the road leading into the car park was privately-owned and that the council’s parking enforcement powers did not extend to it.

“If this access were ever to be obstructed by people parking their cars, then we would be happy to approach them,” she said.