We've been hit, abused and harassed, say parking wardens

""Someone came up to me speaking nonsensically, I didn't understand what he was saying," he said. "I tried to leave and as I turned my back he struck me in my lower back. "When you wake up and think 'what's my day going to be like?' you really don't want to think about 'maybe I'll be attacked today'." Mr Gregory added: "We're not out here to get you, we're trying to keep traffic flowing.""

""I have unfortunately been followed through the street before, I've had sexual harassment and really disgusting things said to me," she said. She even described violent threats towards her colleagues. "Some of my staff had vehicles driven towards them out of anger and thankfully they hit the brake, but what's stopping them?" she said."

"The Institute of Customer Service is calling for the government to make an assault on any public-facing worker a standalone offence."

"The Home Office said existing laws already protected public-facing workers, including traffic wardens, from abuse, harassment, and intimidation."

More than 200 physical assaults on parking staff were recorded in Kent, Surrey and Sussex since 2020. Staff report being punched, followed, sexually harassed, and threatened while working. Civil enforcement officers describe fear of potential attacks and incidents where vehicles were driven toward colleagues in anger. Supervisors report repeated verbal and sexual abuse directed at patrols and office staff. The Institute of Customer Service calls for a standalone offence covering assaults on public-facing workers. The Home Office states that existing laws already protect public-facing workers, including traffic wardens, from abuse, harassment and intimidation.

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