People attending funerals at a crematorium have criticised “heavy-handed” council chiefs for ticketing their cars during services.
Funeral service staff and mourners attending the crematorium in Anfield, Liverpool, have parked on Priory Road for years.
But they said they have recently been fined for parking on the stretch reserved for football fans’ coach parking, even though the bays are empty the majority of the time.
A Liverpool City Council spokesman said enforcement “can take place on days when football games or events are not taking place at Anfield or Goodison Park”.
On-street parking next to Anfield Crematorium has been restricted to coach parking between 10:00 BST and midnight from the start of each August until the end of the following June since 2019.
But locals told the BBC they had never seen the restrictions enforced.
David Barrington, from Barrington Funerals, who is also a former president of the National Association of Funeral Directors, said it was an “incredibly insensitive thing to do to grieving families”.
He added it “seems very heavy-handed that the council have put in coach bays outside the crematorium”, even though “the events that happen at Anfield, and of course at Goodison with the women’s team, don’t happen every day and they don’t happen all day.”
He added: “It would be very helpful if people could just park outside the crematorium when they’re going to a funeral service.”
Padre Fran Myatt of St John’s Church, Walton, added: “How strange of the city council to feel is acceptable to give parking tickets to both ministers and families at Anfield crematorium.
“As if dealing with the loss of a loved-one is not difficult enough, now they have to worry about parking for the time they are saying their final goodbyes.”
There are no parking spaces inside the Anfield crematorium grounds, unlike at some other crematoria around Merseyside.
Liverpool City Council said restrictions were “routinely assessed to make sure everyone, including pedestrians, are treated fairly and equitably on our roads”.
It said there had been coach bays on Prior Road since 2008, and the current restrictions have been in place since 2019.
A spokesman said: “A significant section of on-street car parking is still available on both sides of Priory Road from the Utting Avenue junction to the crematorium, and on the crematorium side from Walton Hall Avenue to Utting Avenue.”
The spokesman said the nearby Stanley Park car park had more than 1,000 spaces and was free to use.
He added: “Liverpool City Council will enforce car parking restrictions to ensure that our roads, streets and highways are safe for everyone.
“Many residents across the city, and particularly in the Anfield area, have asked for the council to ensure that enforcement is taking place.
“At the start of this year more than 50 new traffic enforcement officers were recruited to help tackle parking issues, which are a regular source of complaints from residents.”
