Peterborough parking warden 'hit by twelve eggs all at once'

A Peterborough parking warden has said they've had eggs thrown at them while on the job, while another said they’re shouted at and spat at every week.

Peterborough City Council (PCC) says that its parking officers frequently face physical attacks and death threats while they work “to keep this city safe”.

Last year, 21 serious cases of abuse were reported by parking officers, PCC added, as the council calls for drivers and residents to treat them with greater respect.

One parking warden recounted an incident which left them covered in egg.

“In the past I had twelve eggs thrown at me all at once. I had to have a shower at work because the eggs were all in my hair,” the warden said.

“If we talked to people like they do sometimes we would get reported for it.”

Another said that they frequently encounter abuse despite having been involved in the rescue of a school pupil after they were struck by a vehicle.

“Yet despite all these things we do I normally get abuse shouted at me on average about three times a day,” the warden said.

“I normally have someone spit, if not at me, then in my vicinity at least once a week. I have been slapped once, and on one occasion someone rammed me with a bike they were riding.”

A PCC parking warden has previously recounted an incident in which he was told by a passer-by that he hopes his family get cancer and that his children are raped.

The warden also told the Peterborough Telegraph that a man screamed at him, asking him for a fight in an alleyway, while holding the hand of a small child.

PCC’s community safety neighbourhood manager Adam Payton said that the council wants to raise awareness about abuse of its parking officers.

“It is completely unacceptable that our parking officers who are working hard to educate motorists across the city continue to face abuse,” he said.

"We want to raise awareness of their work and what they have to put up with in the hope that residents can treat our parking officers with respect. They are working to keep this city safe and deserve to be treated with respect.”

Cambridgeshire police say they are aware of the problem and work closely with PCC to address it.